18 Facts About Juan Hinojosa

Juan Jesus "Chuy" Hinojosa was born on March 7,1946 and is an American politician and attorney who is a member of the Texas Senate, representing the 20th district, which stretches from Corpus Christi to McAllen.

Juan Hinojosa served his country in the United States Marine Corps from 1966 to 1968, and was a squad leader in Vietnam War.

Juan Hinojosa has earned a reputation for his criminal justice expertise.

Juan Hinojosa 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.

Juan Hinojosa sponsored SB 3, which established procedures for DNA testing, use and preservation.

In 2005, Senator Juan 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.

Senator Juan Hinojosa was appointed to the TYC Legislative Oversight Committee to continue working on the reform of the troubled agency.

Juan Hinojosa has twice been named one of Texas' "top 10 legislators" by Texas Monthly magazine, and in 2007 he again received accolades from the magazine for his work reforming the Texas Youth Commission.

Juan Hinojosa received the Humane Legislator award from the Humane Society of the United States, a special recognition award from the NAACP for his work on TYC and criminal justice reform and the "Texas Medicines Best Legislator" award from the Texas Medical Association for his work to restore Children's Health Insurance Program funding and improve childhood immunization rates.

Juan Hinojosa is not related to Texas US Representative Ruben Hinojosa, who represented the same general area in Congress as Senator Hinojosa does in the state senate.

In 2005, Juan Hinojosa carried a gun past an airport security checkpoint at McAllen Miller International Airport.

Juan Hinojosa was detained as police verified his concealed handgun permit and identity and traced the weapon before releasing him.

Juan Hinojosa commended the department for performing its duty with utmost professionalism.

In 2005, Juan Hinojosa was pulled over by an agent from a South Texas Drug Task Force on Hwy 281 while traveling south.

The agent stated that the reason for the stop was that Juan Hinojosa swerved his vehicle from lane to lane, and that the tint on Juan Hinojosa's car was too dark.

Juan Hinojosa accused officers of racial profiling; the entire incident was videotaped and Juan Hinojosa never proved the racial profiling accusation to the internal affairs division that supervises the officers who stopped him.

Juan Hinojosa told the agent during the stop that he had no reason to pull him over and that the tint on his windows was factory-issued.

Juan Hinojosa was allowed to continue his travel after being cited for the window tinting.