The U.S. Supreme Court case Terry et al. v. Adams et al., dealt with the issue of racial discrimination in voting practices by private organizations, specifically the Jaybird Democratic Association in Texas which excluded African Americans from its pre-primary elections. The court ruled that this practice violated the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibits denial or abridgment of citizens' right to vote on account of race or color. Despite being a private organization, it was determined that the Jaybird Association held significant influence over public electoral outcomes and thus had an obligation to uphold constitutional rights regarding suffrage. This landmark decision further solidified prohibitions against racially discriminatory voting practices and expanded protections for minority voters.

In the dissenting opinion for Terry et al. v. Adams et al., Justice Minton, joined by Justices Reed and Burton, argued that the Fifteenth Amendment does not apply to private organizations like the Jaybird Democratic Association because they are not state actors. They contended that while it was clear that African Americans were being excluded from participating in this political organization's activities, this exclusion did not violate their constitutional rights as these actions were taken by a private entity rather than a government body. The justices emphasized that if any change is needed regarding discrimination within private associations or clubs, it should be addressed through legislation instead of judicial interpretation of existing laws and amendments.