Strauder v. West Virginia - "a Brand Upon Them", African Americans And The Jury System, Further Readings

appellant decision court justices

Appellant

Taylor Strauder

Appellee

State of West Virginia

Appellant's Claim

That a West Virginia statute allowing only whites to serve on juries prevented Strauder from enjoying due process and full protection under the law.

Chief Lawyers for Appellant

George O. Davenport; Charles Devens, U.S. Attorney General

Chief Lawyers for Appellee

Robert White; J. W. Green

Justices for the Court

Joseph P. Bradley, John Marshall Harlan I, Ward Hunt, Samuel Freeman Miller, William Strong (writing for the Court), Noah Haynes Swayne, Morrison Remick Waite

Justices Dissenting

Nathan Clifford, Stephen Johnson Field

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

1 March 1880

Decision

In favor of Strauder, the appellant.

Significance

The Strauder decision established the right of African Americans to be seated as jurors.

Related Cases

Ex Parte Virginia, 100 U.S. 339 (1879).
United States ex rel. Krueger v. Kinsella, 137 F.Supp. 806 (1956).
Murphy v. Garrett, 729 F.Supp. 461 (1990).

Sources

Bradley, David, and Shelley Fisher Fishkin, eds. The Encyclopedia of Civil Rights in America. Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1998.

Additional Topics

Strauder v. West Virginia - "a Brand Upon Them"

In its decision handed down on 1 March 1880, the Court agreed with Strauder that the state's jury system was discriminatory. Writing for the majority, Justice Strong wondered how West Virginia could not be considered to discriminate against a "colored" defendant on trial for his life when all other African Americans were expressly prevented from serving as jurors on the basis of race alone. The Co…

Strauder v. West Virginia - African Americans And The Jury System

Although many people perceive a summons to jury duty as a burden, the opportunity to serve on a jury is in fact a right. As such, it was denied to many African Americans until 1968. The Supreme Court had ruled as early as 1808, in United States v. Mullany, that African Americans could act as competent witnesses in court, but most jurisdictions (particularly in the South) either flatly denied Afric…

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