In Carter et al. v. Virginia, 1943, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a case involving racial discrimination in interstate bus travel. The plaintiffs were African American passengers who had purchased tickets for interstate travel but were denied seating in the white section of a bus operating within Virginia by the driver and later arrested for refusing to move to the colored section despite there being no available seats there. They challenged their convictions under state law as violating federal Interstate Commerce Act provisions and their constitutional rights under Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The court held that while states have power over intrastate commerce, they cannot use this authority to impose direct burdens on interstate commerce which includes transportation of persons across state lines. It also found that segregation imposed by state action in such circumstances was unconstitutional because it violated equal protection rights of black passengers engaged in interstate travel. However, it upheld convictions against two plaintiffs who boarded at local stops within Virginia since they weren't involved in interstate journey thus falling outside purview of federal regulation or constitutional protections applicable to interstate travelers.

In the dissenting opinion for Carter et al. v. Virginia, Justice Frank Murphy argued that the majority's decision upheld a discriminatory practice which violated both the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. He contended that segregation in interstate travel was inherently unequal and unjust, regardless of whether facilities provided were ostensibly 'equal'. The justice believed this case presented an opportunity to rectify past wrongs by declaring such practices unconstitutional. Furthermore, he asserted that racial discrimination inflicted psychological harm on African Americans while fostering prejudice among white citizens; thus it undermined national unity and democratic ideals. In his view, any law enforcing racial segregation should be deemed arbitrary and capricious - hence unconstitutional under due process clause as well as equal protection clause.