The U.S. Supreme Court case Taylor et al v. McKeithen, Governor of Louisiana, et al., 1971 revolved around the constitutionality of a statute in Louisiana that established a three-judge court for adjudicating civil rights cases involving state officials. The plaintiffs argued that this law violated their right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment because it created an unnecessary hurdle for them to overcome in order to have their claims heard by a federal judge. They also claimed that it was discriminatory as it only applied to civil rights cases and not other types of lawsuits against state officials. However, the Supreme Court dismissed these arguments and upheld the validity of the statute on grounds that there were legitimate reasons behind its enactment such as preventing frivolous litigation and ensuring efficient use of judicial resources. Furthermore, they found no evidence suggesting any intent or effect of discrimination against civil rights litigants specifically.

In the dissenting opinion for Taylor et al v. McKeithen, Governor of Louisiana, et al., Justice Brennan disagreed with the majority's decision to dismiss the case as moot. He argued that despite changes in Louisiana's judicial election system since the lawsuit was filed, there remained a live controversy because racial discrimination could still exist under the new system. Furthermore, he contended that it was premature to decide on whether or not federal courts had jurisdiction over state judicial elections without first examining if such elections were covered by Section 5 of Voting Rights Act - an issue which hadn't been addressed yet at lower court levels. Thus, he believed this dismissal denied plaintiffs their right to challenge potential voting rights violations and urged remanding back to district court for further proceedings.