138
Thomas, J., dissenting
ing advantage of procedures above and beyond those required by the Constitution—in the same way that indigency frequently prevents persons from availing themselves of a variety of state services.1
The Griffin line of cases ascribed to—one might say announced—an equalizing notion of the Equal Protection Clause that would, I think, have startled the Fourteenth Amendment's Framers. In those cases, the Court did not find, nor did it seek, any purposeful discrimination on the part of the state defendants. That their statutes had disproportionate effect on poor persons was sufficient for us to find a constitutional violation. In Davis, among other cases, we began to recognize the potential mischief of a disparate impact theory writ large, and endeavored to contain it. In this case, I would continue that enterprise. Mississippi's requirement of prepaid transcripts in civil appeals seeking to contest the sufficiency of the evidence adduced at trial is facially neutral; it creates no classification. The transcript rule reasonably obliges would-be appellants to bear the costs of availing themselves of a service that the State chooses, but is not constitutionally required, to provide.2 Any ad-1 Similarly, Harper v. Virginia Bd. of Elections, 383 U. S. 663 (1966), struck down a poll tax that directly restricted the exercise of a right found in that case to be fundamental—the right to vote in state elections. The fee that M. L. B. is unable to pay does not prevent the exercise of a fundamental right directly: The fundamental interest identified by the majority is not the right to a civil appeal, it is rather the right to maintain the parental relationship.
2 Petitioner suggests that Mississippi's $2 per page charge exceeds the actual cost of transcription. See Reply Brief for Petitioner 8. She stops short of asserting that the charge is unreasonable or irrational. While not conclusive, I note that Mississippi's transcript charge falls comfortably within the range of charges throughout the Nation. See, e. g., Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 12-224(B) (1992) ($2.50/page); Idaho Code § 1-1105(2) (1990) ($2/page); Mass. Gen. Laws § 221:88 (1994) ($3/page); Mo. Rev. Stat. § 485.100 (1994) ($1.50/page); N. M. Stat. Ann. § 34-6-20(C) (1996) ($1.65/page); R. I. Gen. Laws § 8-5-5 (Supp. 1995) (family court transcripts, $3/page); S. C. App. Ct. Rule 508 ($2/page).
Page: Index Previous 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007