POLSC 219 Reed, Frontiero, Craig

What was Reed v Reed (1971) about?

• A mother and father each wanted to be the administrator of their dead son’s estate, but probate court appointed the father due to Idaho law that gave preference to men over women

• Competency/Authority: men were seen as competent and able to hold authority regardless of their qualifications

What did the Supreme Court say in Reed v Reed?

• Sex-based administrative shortcuts violate equal protection

• Rational-basis review: does a difference in sex of applicants bear a rational relationship to a state objective that must be advanced by Idaho law

  • Supreme Court said it did not

What was Frontiero v Richardson (1973) about?

• Differing treatments between male and female military personnel:

  • Female members were required to demonstrate spouse’s dependency; required to show that husbands depended on them for over ½ of their financial support

  • First case to apply heightened scrutiny to sex-based case

• Dependency/Roles—wives seen as dependent, husbands not; this led to the benefits rule

What did the majority opinion in Frontiero v Richardson say?

• Sex, like other suspect criteria (ex race), has no relation to ability to perform or contribute to society

• Statutory distinctions between sexes end up relegating all women to inferior legal status without considering individual members’ actual capabilities

Powell’s concurrence in Frontiero v Richardson

• Standard of review for gender-based classifications shouldn’t be determined in this case

• Heightened standard of review unnecessary to reach result since Reed’s precedent provided sufficient grounds

What was Craig v Boren (1976) about?

• Beer could be sold to women 18+, but men had to be 21+

• Risk/Statistics: young men were considered dangerous to be driving

What standard did Craig v Boren establish?

Intermediate scrutiny