Strauder v. West Virginia

100 U.S. 303 (1879)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Strauder (D), a black man, was convicted of murder in West Virginia in 1874. A state supreme court affirmed. D argued on appeal that he was denied rights to which he was entitled under the Constitution and laws of the United States because, under West Virginia state law, blacks were not eligible to serve on a grand or petit jury. Jury service was limited to only white males 21 or older. D was thus convicted by an all-white jury. D argued on appeal that this violated the Fourteenth Amendment.