In Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority et al., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a privately owned restaurant located in a public parking building was subject to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits racial discrimination by states. The case arose when William Burton, an African American man, was refused service at Eagle Coffee Shoppe due to his race despite it being situated in a government-owned facility and receiving benefits from its association with state functions such as free maintenance services and tax exemptions. The court held that although Eagle Coffee Shoppe was privately owned, its close relationship with the state made it effectively an agent of the state for purposes of constitutional law analysis; thus making their discriminatory practices unconstitutional under equal protection laws.

In the dissenting opinion for Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority, Justice Whittaker argued that the state had not participated in any discriminatory action against Burton. He stated that while it was true that Eagle Coffee Shoppe, Inc., a private corporation leasing property from the government-owned parking facility, refused service to Burton on racial grounds; this did not mean that the State of Delaware or its agency were involved in discrimination. The lease agreement between Eagle and Wilmington Parking Authority didn't contain any clause requiring or permitting racial discrimination by lessee. Therefore, he believed there was no violation of Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment as such actions were purely private conduct rather than state involvement or support.