After a saloon brawl between Joseph Hurtado (petitioner) and Jose Estudaro, that resulted in Joseph Hurtado being arrested and then released. The trial was postponed due to the fact that Hurtado`s attorney failed to attend the trial. After release, Hurtado met Estudaro at a local bar and shot Estudaro three times. This resulted in arrest, subsequent trial, conviction, and sentence to death of Hurtado. The 5th Amendment requires a trial by a grand jury when someone is accused of a crime Hurtado was. However, the California Constitution of 1879 allowed an individual to be tried based on a written set of accusations made by a prosecutor. The constitutionality of this procedure by California (respondent) was questioned, specifically violation of
