Rojas v. Richardson
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
703 F.2d 186, 713 F.2d 116 (1983)
- Written by DeAnna Swearingen, LLM
Facts
Rojas (plaintiff) was injured while working for Richardson (defendant) as a ranch hand. Rojas sued Richardson for negligence in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas under its diversity jurisdiction. During trial, Richardson’s attorney repeatedly referred to Rojas as an “alien.” In closing arguments, Richardson’s attorney then asked the jury not to give Rojas any special treatment due to his status as an “illegal alien” and discussed the kind of treatment that would be expected “[i]f the situation were reversed and you or I were in Mexico.” Rojas’ attorney did not object. The court instructed the jury that “all persons are equal before the law” and that the case should be treated “as an action between two persons of equal standing in the community.” The jury returned a verdict for Richardson. Rojas appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Williams, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 778,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
