The U.S. Supreme Court case Wright et al. v. Council of the City of Emporia et al., 1971, dealt with issues related to school desegregation and districting in Virginia. The city council of Emporia sought to establish a separate school system within its geographical boundaries, which was previously part of the larger Greensville County School District that had been mandated by federal courts to desegregate its schools under Brown v Board Education ruling (1954). The Supreme Court ruled against the city council's plan on grounds that it would impede the ongoing process of racial integration in public schools as most white students resided within city limits while majority black student population lived outside it in rural areas. Thus, creating a new district would result into racially segregated systems contrary to established law and policy for equal educational opportunities regardless race or ethnicity.

In the dissenting opinion for Wright et al. v. Council of the City of Emporia et al., Justice Powell, joined by Chief Justice Burger and Justices Blackmun and Rehnquist, argued that the majority's decision was an overreach in federal power into local affairs. They contended that there was no evidence to suggest racial discrimination or segregationist intent behind Emporia’s desire to establish its own school district separate from Sussex County. The dissenters believed that it is not within the Supreme Court's jurisdiction to judge whether a new school system would be more or less effective than an existing one unless there are clear constitutional violations involved such as intentional racial discrimination which they found lacking in this case.