In Covington v. Kentucky, 1898, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a case involving the city of Covington's right to regulate and control its own police force. The dispute arose when the state legislature passed an act that transferred control of local law enforcement from municipal authorities to a board appointed by the governor. The city challenged this action as unconstitutional under both federal and state constitutions, arguing it violated their rights to home rule and due process. However, in a unanimous decision authored by Justice Rufus Wheeler Peckham, the court upheld Kentucky’s law allowing for such reorganization of local police forces by states' governors. They found no violation of constitutional rights since there was no deprivation or infringement upon any fundamental privilege or immunity protected under Fourteenth Amendment due process clause.

The dissenting opinion in the Covington v. Kentucky case argued that the state of Kentucky had violated the Fourteenth Amendment by denying African Americans their right to serve on juries. The dissent pointed out that while there was no explicit law barring African Americans from jury service, a de facto exclusion existed due to discriminatory practices and biases within the court system. This systemic discrimination resulted in an all-white jury pool which infringed upon defendants' rights to a fair trial by a diverse panel of peers. Furthermore, it was emphasized that this practice undermined public confidence in judicial impartiality and fairness, thereby weakening our democratic institutions overall.