Archive for February, 2010

HNBA Unveils Hernández v. Texas Educational Video
February 17, 2010 – The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) is proud to unveil a two-part video and moot court re-enactment of Hernández v. Texas, 347 U.S. 475 (1954), a landmark Supreme Court case. In this 1954 decision (decided two weeks before Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)), Chief Justice Earl Warren held for a unanimous Supreme Court that Mexican Americans, including all Hispanics, in the United States had equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This little-known case was the first case argued before the Supreme Court by the late Gus Garcia and Carlos Cadena, who led a team of five Mexican American lawyers to challenge Jim Crow-de facto discrimination against Mexicans and other Latinos that existed in the Southwestern U.S. states. The Hernández case is still precedent and cited today in Supreme Court cases.

HNBA Supports Application of the Matthew Shepard to Thwart Hate Crimes
February 4, 2010 — The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) calls upon the local authorities in Puerto Rico and United States federal authorities to continue to investigate and ultimately prosecute the murder of Jorge Steven Lopez Martinez under the recently enacted Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (“the Matthew Shepard Act”). The Matthew Shepard Act permits the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute hate crimes in which the victim is targeted because of sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or disability. In late 2009, Mr. Lopez, a gay Puerto Rican teenager, was murdered, decapitated and dismembered, and his body was partially burned. The crime, which occurred in Puerto Rico, appears to have been motivated because of the victim’s sexual orientation. The alleged perpetrator, Juan Martinez Matos, was recently found competent to stand trial, but has not yet been charged with committing a hate crime under the Matthew Shepard Act.

HNBA Announces Recipients of the 2010 Top Lawyers Under 40 Awards
February 3, 2010 – The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) congratulates five (5) accomplished HNBA members under the age of 40 who have distinguished themselves as young lawyers in the upper echelon of the legal profession nationwide. The Association is proud to announce that it has selected the following attorneys to receive its prestigious Top Lawyers Under Forty Award (listed in alphabetical order):