In Rinaldi v. Yeager, Warden, et al., the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a New Jersey statute requiring inmates to pay for their trial transcripts used in unsuccessful appeals was unconstitutional. The court held that this law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it discriminated against indigent prisoners who could not afford to pay for these transcripts. The state argued that they were trying to recoup costs associated with providing free legal services and materials to prisoners but failed to provide any evidence supporting this claim. Furthermore, the court noted that there was no rational basis for distinguishing between those who can and cannot afford such payments as both groups are equally responsible under law.

In the dissenting opinion for Rinaldi v. Yeager, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision was based on a misinterpretation of the Equal Protection Clause. He contended that New Jersey's statute requiring incarcerated individuals to reimburse the state for costs associated with their appeals did not violate equal protection rights because it applied uniformly to all prisoners seeking appeal, regardless of their financial status or crime committed. Furthermore, he asserted that this law served a legitimate state interest in recouping some expenses related to criminal appeals and thus should be upheld as constitutional. In his view, there was no evidence suggesting an intentional discrimination against indigent inmates by this law; rather it merely reflected economic realities faced by states when dealing with legal proceedings involving convicted criminals.