William Strong

“ No law can be, which the people of the States have, by the Constitution of the United States, empowered Congress to enact. This extent of the powers of the general government is overlooked, when it is said, as it has been in this case, that the act of March 1, 1875, interferes with State rights. It is said the selection of jurors for her courts and the administration of her laws belong to each State; that they are her rights. ”

“ But the appellate power of this court is broader than its original, and generally-that is, in most cases-it may be said that the issue of a writ of habeas corpus by us, when it is directed to one of our inferior courts, is an exercise of our appellate jurisdiction. Without going at large into a discussion of its extent, it is sufficient for the present to notice the fact that the exercise of the appellate power is not limited by the Constitution to any particular form or mode. It is not alone by appeal or by writ of error that it may be invoked. ”

“ The Thirteenth ordains that 'neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction,' and it declares that Congress shall have power to enforce the article by appropriate legislation. ”

“ The indictment and bench-warrant, in virtue of which the petitioner Coles has been arrested and is held in custody, have their justification,-if any they have,-in the act of Congress of March 1, 1875, sect. 4. 18 Stat., part 3, 336. That section enacts that 'no citizen, possessing all other qualifications which are or may be prescribed by law shall be disqualified for service as grand or petit juror in any court of the United States, or of any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude ”