In the case of Kentucky v. Powers, 1905, Caleb Powers was accused by the state of Kentucky for conspiring to murder Governor William Goebel in 1900. After being convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court, Powers appealed his conviction on grounds that he had been denied due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment because potential jurors who disagreed with capital punishment were excluded from jury service. The U.S Supreme Court agreed with him and reversed his conviction in a landmark decision that established an important precedent regarding juror selection procedures. The Court held that excluding individuals solely based on their views about capital punishment violated a defendant's right to an impartial jury trial as guaranteed by the Constitution.

In the dissenting opinion for Kentucky v. Powers, Justice John Marshall Harlan argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law prohibiting non-residents from practicing law in its courts was unconstitutional. He believed it violated both the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. According to him, these provisions were designed to ensure equality among citizens of different states, preventing any state from discriminating against citizens of other states solely based on their residency status. He contended that if every state adopted similar laws as Kentucky did, then lawyers would be confined only within their home states which could potentially limit access to legal representation for individuals across state lines or those involved in interstate disputes. Furthermore, he emphasized that such restrictions could also hinder national unity by fostering provincialism and parochialism.