Strauder v. West Virginia was a landmark Supreme Court case that established the precedent that the exclusion of African Americans from jury service was unconstitutional. The case was brought by a black man, John Strauder, who was convicted of murder by an all-white jury in West Virginia. Strauder argued that his conviction was invalid because the jury selection process excluded African Americans from serving on the jury. The Supreme Court agreed with Strauder, ruling that the exclusion of African Americans from jury service violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court held that the exclusion of African Americans from jury service was a form of discrimination and that the state had a duty to ensure that all citizens, regardless of race, had an equal opportunity to serve on juries. The ruling in Strauder v. West Virginia was a major victory for civil rights and established the precedent that the exclusion of African Americans from jury service was unconstitutional. The ruling was a major step forward in the fight for racial equality and helped to ensure that all citizens, regardless of race, had an equal opportunity to serve on juries.

In Strauder v. West Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled that a state law which excluded African Americans from serving on juries was unconstitutional. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Field argued that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply to this case because it only applied to states and not individuals or private organizations. He also argued that while exclusion of African Americans from jury service may be wrong, it is up to each individual state to decide whether or not they want such laws in place. Furthermore, he stated that if Congress wanted to pass legislation prohibiting racial discrimination in jury selection then they should do so instead of relying on the courts for enforcement. Ultimately, Justice Field believed that since there was no clear violation of constitutional rights by excluding African Americans from juries then the court had no authority over this issue and thus could not rule against West Virginia's law as unconstitutional.