PROGRAM INFO
- Title:
- Chicanos In The Legal System
- Program #
- 1977-23
- Theme:
- Society
- Series:
- Legal Issues
- Host:
- Alejandro Saenz
- Guest:
- Hector F. Fabela
- Date:
- May 26, 1977
Chicanos in the Legal System
In this interview, Hector Fabela, an attorney in Austin, Texas, discusses his experiences as a Chicano lawyer and some of the legal issues affecting the Chicano community. Fabela explains that his experiences in law school were the same as other Anglo students studying at the University of Texas at Austin. You have to be prepared from the first day, and, basically, everyone is frightened particularly because of the Socratic method. After law school, he says that his ethnicity helped him as he started his practice. Favela explains that because Chicanos feel more comfortable working with lawyers from their community, Chicanos make up most of his clients. He also discusses the difficulties and vulnerabilities most of his clients have facing the legal system.
Fabela says that because Chicano barrios are overpoliced, most of his cases are misdemeanors, such as DWIs or unlawfully carrying weapons. Chicanos face some unique problems in the court system. Fabela explains that native Spanish speakers may feel more uncomfortable in the courts that native English speakers. He goes on to say that Travis County does provide for a translator if the attorney requests one. Fabela also discusses some prominent Chicano lawyers, including Tony Canales and Rudolfo Garza. He claims that inferior education historically has kept the number of Chicano lawyers low. He hears that there are nearly 100 Chicano students at the University of Texas and that the new generation of lawyers seems more prepared. He believes the future looks bright for Chicano attorneys.
KEYWORDS
AlcoholismChicano Lawyers
Chicano Legal Presence
Chicano Under-representation in the Professions
Chicanos and the Courts
Chicanos and the Law
Chicanos in Higher Education
Chicanos in Law School
Corpus Christi
Court Translators
Due Process
Entrepreneurship
Generational Difference
Gustavo de Anda [Gus de Anda]
Hector Fabela
Hector Fabela v. City of Austin
Jose Antonio Canales
Language Barriers
Legal Training
Misdemeanor offenses
New Mexico
Pedagogy
Police and the Chicano Community
Rudolfo Garza
Socratic Method
Speaking Spanish and the Court System
Travis County
University of Texas at Austin Law School