The U.S. Supreme Court case Newsom v. Smyth, Superintendent, Virginia State Penitentiary in 1960 involved a petitioner who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by the state court of Virginia. The petitioner claimed that his constitutional rights were violated as he was denied due process because he did not have competent counsel during his trial. He also alleged that the jury selection process was racially biased against him, which further infringed upon his right to a fair trial under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. However, both these claims were dismissed by lower courts on procedural grounds without examining their merits. When appealed to the Supreme Court, it remanded (sent back) this case for reconsideration in light of recent decisions involving similar issues about racial discrimination and inadequate legal representation. This decision underscored two important principles: first is every defendant’s right to effective legal counsel; second is equal protection under law irrespective of race or color - emphasizing fairness in jury selection processes.

In the dissenting opinion for Newsom v. Smyth, Justice Frankfurter argued that the Court should not have granted certiorari in this case because it did not present a substantial federal question. He believed that there was no constitutional violation involved in Newsom's conviction and sentencing by Virginia courts. The justice pointed out that the petitioner had been represented by competent counsel throughout his trial and appeals process, which included multiple reviews of his sentence by state courts. Furthermore, he noted that even though racial discrimination is a serious issue, there was no evidence to suggest its presence in this particular case; thus it could not be used as grounds for overturning Newsom's conviction or sentence.