Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 1.djvu/519

 IN ES TIBUr.CJO PAEKOTT. 611 �theîr privileges and immunities. It further declares that no Btate shall deprive any person (dropping the distinctive term citizen) of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person the equal protection of the laws. This inhibition upon the state applies to ail the instrumen- talities and agencies employed in the administration of its government, to its executive, legislative, and judicial depart- ments, and to the subordinate legislative bodies of counties and cities. And the equality of protection thus assured to every one while within the United States, from whatever country he may have corne, or of whatever race or color he may be, implies not only that the courts of the country shall be open to him on the same term s as to ail others for the security of his person or property, the prevention or redress of wrongs, and the enforcement of contracts, but that no charges or burdens shall be laid upon him which are not equally borne by others; and that in the administration of criminal justice he shall suffer for his offences no greater or different punishment." And the same views are expressed with equal emphasis in In re Ah Fong, 3 Saw. 157. Dis- criminating state legislation has often been held void by the supreme court, as being in violation of other provisions of the national constitution, no more specifie than the fourteenth amendment. Welton v. Missouri, 1 Otto, 277, 282 ; Cook v. Pennsylvania, 7 Otto, 672-3, and numerous cases cited. �Since the foregoing was written I have received the opin- ion of the supreme^ court of the United States in Strauder v. The State of West Virginia, reeently decided, which appears to me to authoritatively dispose of the point now under con- sideration. The case was an indictment of a colored man for murder, and the statute of West Virginia limited the qualified jurors to white citizens. The statute stating the qualifications of jurors was in the foUowing words : "Ail white maie persons, who are 21 years of age, and who are citizens of this state, shall be liable to serve as jurors, except as herein provided" — the exceptions being state officiais. This was claimed to be a violation of the fourteenth amendment, as eicluding colored citizens otherwise qualified from jury service; »î»-^the ��� �