PATTERSON v. WARNER Et Al.

We noted probable jurisdiction in this case, 411 U. S. 905 (1973), because it appeared to present a significant issue, under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, as to the validity of that provision of W. Va. Code Ann. § 50-15-2 (1966), 1 requiring a double bond as a condition for an appeal from a judgment entered by a justice of the peace in a civil case. See Lindsey v. Normet, 405 U. S. 56, 74-79 (1972).

In November 1968 appellant Patterson purchased a used automobile from appellee Graham Motor Company under a deferred-purchase money contract. That…