Ex parte Virginia Commissioners is a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. The case involved a Virginia law that prohibited African Americans from serving on juries. The Supreme Court held that the law was unconstitutional and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case arose when a black man, John H. Lewis, was convicted of a crime in a Virginia court. Lewis argued that his conviction was invalid because the jury that convicted him was composed entirely of white people. He argued that the Virginia law prohibiting African Americans from serving on juries violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed with Lewis and held that the Virginia law was unconstitutional. The Court reasoned that the law violated the Equal Protection Clause because it denied African Americans the right to serve on juries, which was a fundamental right. The Court also noted that the law was based on racial discrimination and that it was not necessary to achieve any legitimate state interest. The Court's decision in Ex parte Virginia Commissioners was an important step in the fight against racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. The decision established that laws that discriminate on the basis of race are unconstitutional and cannot be used to deny individuals their fundamental rights.

In Ex Parte Virginia Commissioners, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state law that prohibited African Americans from serving on juries violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The majority opinion held that it did not violate this clause because there was no evidence of racial discrimination in its application. However, Justice Harlan dissented and argued that any law which discriminates against individuals based solely on their race is unconstitutional and should be struck down as such. He further argued that states cannot use race-based criteria when selecting jurors since it would undermine public confidence in jury verdicts and lead to unequal justice for all citizens regardless of their race or ethnicity. Furthermore, he noted that even if there were no explicit intent to discriminate against African Americans by enacting such laws, they still have an unjustified disparate impact upon them due to systemic racism within society at large. In conclusion, Justice Harlan concluded his dissent by stating “there can be but one answer”: these laws must be declared unconstitutional as they are contrary to both the letter and spirit of our Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law for all persons regardless of their race or ethnicity