In the case of Estelle, Corrections Director v. Williams (1975), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a defendant's right to a fair trial was violated when he appeared before jurors in prison clothing, which could prejudice their opinion against him. The court held that compelling an accused to stand trial in jail garments furthers no essential state policy and infringes on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty principle - fundamental to American jurisprudence. However, it also clarified that not every instance where an accused is compelled to wear prison clothes would be considered unconstitutional; only if this action was deliberately intended by the state officials for identification purposes or other reasons related directly with proceedings' conduct would it violate due process rights under Fourteenth Amendment.

In the dissenting opinion for Estelle, Corrections Director v. Williams, Justice William Rehnquist argued that the majority's decision was based on speculation rather than concrete evidence. He contended that there was no clear indication that Williams' prison attire influenced or prejudiced the jury against him during his trial. Furthermore, he believed it was not appropriate to assume prejudice without substantial proof and maintained that it should be up to defendants to demonstrate how their rights were violated in such situations. Additionally, he criticized the majority's reliance on a presumption of innocence principle as being too broad and vague in its application within this context. In essence, Justice Rehnquist disagreed with imposing an absolute rule prohibiting state-compelled trials in prison clothes because each case should be evaluated individually based on its unique circumstances.