Peter Hernandez, a Mexican-American agricultural worker, was convicted for the 1951 murder of Joe Espinosa, a man that he shot in cold blood at a bar in Edna, Texas. Hernandez's pro bono legal team, including Gustavo C. García, appealed the ruling, arguing that he was being discriminated against because there were no Mexicans in the jury that convicted him. They hoped to challenge what they described as "the systematic exclusion of persons of Mexican origin from all types of jury duty in at least seventy counties in Texas." They argued that Hernandez had the right to be tried by a jury of his peers under the 14th amendment, which at the time was a special civil rights protection intended for black citizens. The State of Texas denied their claim, on the grounds that Mexicans were white and the 14th amendment did not protect white nationality groups.