Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa
| Juan Hinojosa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| President pro tempore of the Texas Senate | |
|
Assumed office January 13, 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Craig Estes |
| Member of the Texas Senate from the 20th district |
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Assumed office January 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Carlos Truan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 7, 1946 McAllen, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater |
University of Texas, Pan American Georgetown University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Marine Corps
|
| Years of service | 1966–1968 |
| Rank | Squad leader |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Juan Jesus “Chuy” Hinojosa (born 7 March 1946) is a Democratic member of the Texas Senate representing the 20th District (Corpus Christi – McAllen).
Born in McAllen, Texas, Hinojosa was a farm worker who worked his way through school to earn a law degree. For more than 25 years, Hinojosa has represented South Texas in both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate.
Hinojosa served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps as a squad leader in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968. Returning to South Texas, he earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Pan American University in Edinburg, graduating with honors.
After receiving a law degree from Georgetown University in Washington D.C., Hinojosa worked for the Legal Aid Society of Nueces County in Corpus Christi and as an Assistant Attorney General in McAllen and San Antonio.
First elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1981, Hinojosa served eight terms before being elected to the Texas Senate in 2002. Hinojosa has earned a reputation for his criminal justice expertise. He authored the Texas Fair Defense Act and other reforms to establish court-appointed counsel for indigent defendants, prohibit capital punishment for defendants with mental illness, and streamline the court system to provide swifter justice. He also sponsored SB 3, which established procedures for DNA testing, use and preservation. In 2005, Senator Hinojosa authored SB 1125 to eliminate the state's few remaining rogue drug task force operations and put them under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Safety. In the wake of the Tulia drug-task-force scandal, Hinojosa worked to improve public policy by requiring that drug task force operations submit to state oversight, failure to do so would result in an inability to receive state-administered federal grant money. This change in public policy brought greater transparency and oversight to these operations.
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