Strauder v. West Virginia

Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. 303 (1880), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

West Virginia law restricted jury service to white male citizens. Taylor Strauder, a Black man convicted of murder by an all-white jury, argued that the law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by excluding Black citizens from jury service.

Significance

Justice Strong’s opinion struck down the West Virginia law as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to guarantee equal rights to Black citizens and that excluding them from jury service denied them the equal protection of the laws. However, the Court noted that states could exclude from juries on other grounds (such as education or property qualifications) as long as race was not the criterion. This was the first major interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause.

Category

US Federal Case Law