On May 18, 1953, the Texas Legislature passed House Joint Resolution 16, which proposed an amendment to the Texas Constitution providing that qualification for service on a jury should “not be denied or abridged by reason of sex.” It passed the Texas House by a vote of 123 to 6 and the Texas Senate by a vote of 32 to 7. The proposed Constitutional amendment was presented to the voters of Texas on November 2, 1954. The amendment passed with 57 percent of the votes favoring the change. Less than a month later, on November 22, 1954, R.E. Hayes v. Texas & New Orleans Railroad Company was called to trial in the 152ND District Court of Harris County, Texas. When the panel was seated for voir dire, Miss Louise Summers was jury panel member number 1. Miss Summers, a bookkeeper at Cameron Iron Works, listed her age on the juror information form as “over 21.”
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