To determine whether classifications in laws and regulations are in keeping with the amendment's equal protection clause, the Supreme Court developed three standards of review: most classifications need only be reasonable, racial or ethnic classifications are inherently suspect, and classifications based on gender ...
What are the standards of review fashioned by the Court under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment?
In addition, the Fourteenth Amendment contains the equal protection clause. This mandates that no state shall... “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws .” This clause has proved to be central in ending and preventing government discrimination based on race and gender.
What are the three different standards of constitutional review?
Concerning constitutional questions, three basic standards of review exist: rational basis, intermediate scrutiny, and strict scrutiny . This form of standard of review is sometimes also called the standard or level of scrutiny.
What are the 3 levels of scrutiny of constitutional law?
Then the choice between the three levels of scrutiny, strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, or rational basis scrutiny , is the doctrinal way of capturing the individual interest and perniciousness of the kind of government action.
What are the three standards of review under the Equal Protection Clause?
Let us start by examining the three levels of review applied in Equal Protection and Due Process cases: (1) Rational Basis Review; (2) Intermediate Scrutiny; (3) Strict Scrutiny .
What is the 14th Amendment in simple terms?
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including former enslaved people—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws .” One of three amendments passed during the Reconstruction era to abolish slavery and ...
What is the Equal Protection Clause in simple terms?
Equal Protection refers to the idea that a governmental body may not deny people equal protection of its governing laws . The governing body state must treat an individual in the same manner as others in similar conditions and circumstances.
What are the 3 clauses of the 14th Amendment?
The amendment's first section includes several clauses: the Citizenship Clause, Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause .
How can the 14th Amendment be violated?
Washington , the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment (which guarantees the right to a fair hearing that follows the rules) is violated when a state law fails to explain exactly what conduct is prohibited .
Who does the Equal Protection Clause apply to?
While the Equal Protection Clause itself applies only to state and local governments , the Supreme Court held in Bolling v. Sharpe (1954) that the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment nonetheless imposes various equal protection requirements on the federal government via reverse incorporation.
What is a deferential standard?
Many standards of review are described as “deferential.” The abuse of discretion standard is supposedly “deferential,” as is the “rational basis” standard and the “reasonable jury” standard. Appellate courts are supposed to defer to the management decisions made by trial courts.
What is the reasonableness rule?
The reasonableness standard is a test that asks whether the decisions made were legitimate and designed to remedy a certain issue under the circumstances at the time . Courts using this standard look at both the ultimate decision, and the process by which a party went about making that decision.
What are the three tests of judicial scrutiny to determine the reasonableness of classifications?
Rational Basis Test Comparison
There are three judicial review tests: the rational basis test, the intermediate scrutiny test, and the strict scrutiny test .
What falls under strict scrutiny?
Strict scrutiny is a form of judicial review that courts use to determine the constitutionality of certain laws . ... To pass strict scrutiny, the legislature must have passed the law to further a “compelling governmental interest,” and must have narrowly tailored the law to achieve that interest.
What falls under intermediate scrutiny?
Intermediate scrutiny is a test courts will use to determine a statute's constitutionality . ... To pass intermediate scrutiny, the challenged law must: further an important government interest. and must do so by means that are substantially related to that interest.
What does scrutiny mean in law?
Legal Definition of scrutiny
: searching study or inquiry specifically : judicial investigation of the constitutionality of a statutory classification of persons under the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution — see also intermediate sense 2, strict scrutiny — compare rational basis test.
