Chapter 1-8: Equal Protection Clause and Levels of Judicial Scrutiny

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Fourteenth Amendment, Equal Protection Clause, classifications, and judicial scrutiny standards.

Equal Protection Clause

A clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that guarantees all citizens equal protection of the laws and serves as the impetus for legal equality.

Fourteenth Amendment Claim

A legal assertion made when an individual states they are being discriminated against or denied equal protection of the laws.

Non-suspect Classification

A legal category, such as age or income, where distinguishing laws are not considered suspicious due to factors like biological differences across life stages or non-permanent group membership.

Rational Basis Test

The standard level of judicial scrutiny applied to non-suspect classifications, which assumes a law is constitutional if it is rationally related to achieving a legitimate government objective.

Legitimate Government Objective

A valid state interest, such as protecting public safety or generating tax revenue, required to justify a policy under the rational basis test.

Strict Scrutiny

The highest standard of judicial scrutiny applied to inherently suspect classifications, which assumes a law is unconstitutional unless the government proves it serves a compelling interest through narrowly tailored means.

Inherently Suspect Classification

A legal classification, such as race, characterized by traits present at birth, superficial biological differences, and a history of societal oppression or denial of fundamental rights.

Narrowly Tailored

A requirement under strict scrutiny demanding a close fit between a law and its compelling objective, prohibiting arbitrary mechanisms like fixed quotas.

Korematsu Case

A World War II Supreme Court case that upheld the internment of Japanese Americans by accepting national security as a compelling government objective under strict scrutiny.

Quasi-suspect Classification

A legal category, such as gender or sex, that falls between suspect and non-suspect classifications and receives intermediate scrutiny.

Intermediate Scrutiny

A level of judicial review, also called heightened scrutiny, applied to quasi-suspect classifications that requires a policy to be a substantially related means of accomplishing an important government objective.

Reed v. Reed

An early 1970s Supreme Court case that struck down an Idaho law preferring males over females as estate administrators, ruling that administrative ease and sex-based stereotypes cannot justify gender discrimination.

Intestate

The legal condition of an individual who dies without having made a valid will.