In Bokulich et al. v. Jury Commission of Greene County et al., the U.S Supreme Court dealt with a case concerning racial discrimination in jury selection processes. The plaintiffs, African American residents of Greene County, Alabama, alleged that they were systematically excluded from serving on grand and petit juries due to their race by the local Jury Commission. They sought an injunction against this practice under federal civil rights laws but were denied relief by lower courts which held that there was no evidence of intentional racial discrimination. The Supreme Court reversed these decisions and remanded the case for further proceedings. It found that statistical disparities between the number of eligible black jurors and those actually selected could constitute prima facie evidence of discriminatory practices if unexplained by other factors. This ruling clarified standards for proving violations of equal protection in jury selection cases: while direct proof is not necessary, circumstantial evidence can be sufficient if it shows a clear pattern indicative of bias.

In the dissenting opinion for Bokulich et al. v. Jury Commission of Greene County et al., Justice Douglas argued that the Court should have heard this case, as it raised significant questions about racial discrimination in jury selection processes. He noted that while there was no explicit evidence of discriminatory intent by the Jury Commission, a pattern of underrepresentation could be enough to establish a prima facie case of discrimination under previous Supreme Court rulings. Furthermore, he pointed out that even if some African Americans were included on juries, this did not necessarily mean there was no discrimination; rather than looking at raw numbers or percentages alone, courts should consider whether minorities had an equal opportunity to participate in jury service compared with whites. Finally, Justice Douglas criticized his colleagues for dismissing these concerns without giving them full consideration and suggested they were abdicating their responsibility to uphold constitutional rights.