In Howard v. Kentucky (1905), the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a state law requiring separate schools for black and white students did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, as long as the education provided was substantially equal. The case involved Berea College in Kentucky, which had been racially integrated since its founding after the Civil War. However, a 1904 state law made it illegal for any school or college to teach black and white students together. When Berea College refused to comply with this segregationist policy, they were fined $1,000 by local authorities leading them to appeal their case all the way up to Supreme Court where they lost their argument against racial segregation in education.

In the dissenting opinion for Howard v. Kentucky, it was argued that the defendant's constitutional rights were violated due to a lack of proper legal representation during his trial. The dissenting justices believed that Howard had not been given adequate time or opportunity to secure counsel before being tried and convicted for murder, which they saw as a violation of his Sixth Amendment right to have assistance of counsel in criminal prosecutions. They also pointed out inconsistencies in how this case was handled compared with similar cases where defendants were granted more time to prepare their defense. This led them to conclude that there may have been prejudice against Howard because he was poor and illiterate, further undermining the fairness of his trial.