In the 1903 case of Deposit Bank v. Frankfort, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a Kentucky statute that imposed taxes on banks for their shares violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The plaintiff, Deposit Bank, argued that it was unfair to tax them at a higher rate than other corporations and individuals in similar circumstances. However, upon review of the law and its application by Kentucky courts, the Supreme Court ruled against Deposit Bank. They found no violation of equal protection rights as there were reasonable grounds for differentiating between banks and other entities when imposing taxes due to differences in business operations and structures. Therefore, they upheld Kentucky's right to impose such taxation laws.

In the dissenting opinion for the case of Deposit Bank v. Frankfort, it was argued that Kentucky's tax law should not be considered unconstitutional. The dissenting justices believed that there was no violation of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment as claimed by Deposit Bank. They held that all national banks were treated equally under this law and therefore, there was no discrimination against them specifically. Furthermore, they contended that states have a right to determine their own systems of taxation within constitutional limits and federal courts should not interfere with these decisions unless absolutely necessary due to clear violations of rights or principles set out in the Constitution. Thus, they disagreed with striking down Kentucky's tax statute based on its alleged unconstitutionality.