Harris County Grand Juries Lack Hispanics
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HOUSTON (AP) — A newspaper says Hispanics are so underrepresented in Houston-area criminal grand juries that the legality of indictments could be questioned based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision that found such disparities can violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
An analysis conducted by the Houston Chronicle found that there are three times more adult Hispanics living in Harris County than the number who serve on grand juries, 36 percent versus 12 percent. The analysis also found that Asians are underrepresented in Harris County to a similar degree as Hispanics.
In Castaneda v. Partida, a 1977 case that made it to the high court, Hidalgo County grand juries were found to be 39 percent Mexican-American, though the county population was 79 percent. The Mexican-American defendant's indictment was thrown out.
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