National security is generally considered a compelling state interest.

It must be justified by a compelling state interest. This means the law is needed to protect something essential to the health of the state.

A law that receives strict scrutiny must comply with the following three restrictions: These groupings can be among other things, age-based, criminal record-based, or class-based, and receive “rational basis” scrutiny.Īs previously mentioned, the level of scrutiny determines what conditions a law must meet to be constitutional. Finally, there are groupings courts usually consider to be legitimate.

Quasi-suspect classifications receive intermediate scrutiny. Others are thought to be generally problematic, like gender, and are titled “quasi-suspect” classifications. These classifications are called “suspect classifications” and trigger strict scrutiny.

Courts presume some classifications, such as race, to be illegitimate. Classifications may include divisions by race (like Jim Crow laws in the segregated South), gender (like the statute specifying that only males must sign up for the Selective Service), or even age (see Social Security and Medicare). The level of scrutiny a law receives depends on the “classifications” a law has made, i.e, the groups into which the law has divided people. A law that receives “strict scrutiny” is presumed to be unconstitutional unless it can meet certain strict conditions a law that receives “intermediate scrutiny” is assumed to have serious questions about its constitutionality and must meet a slightly more flexible set of restrictions and a law analyzed under “rational-basis” scrutiny is presumed constitutional, and must only meet very basic conditions. Courts can apply one of three different types of scrutiny to a law accused of violating equal protection: strict, intermediate, and rational-basis. “Scrutiny” here refers to how a particular law is approached by a Court. One set of these rules regards the level of judicial “scrutiny” laws receive when they are challenged as discriminatory on the basis of the EPC. The success or failure of such attempts, though, often rests on certain judicial rules regarding the implementation of the EPC. Groups frequently dispute laws on basis of the EPC, arguing that a particular statute which explicitly treats two groups differently is unconstitutional. The Equal Protection Clause (EPC) of the 14th Amendment declares that “No State… shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This guarantee of equal protection is one of the most profound and important statements in the American Constitution. What is legal scrutiny, and why does it matter? Instead, their constitutionality may be determined by a relatively dry legal issue: the level of scrutiny that laws which differentiate on the basis of sexual orientation should receive under the 14th Amendment. However, the fate of these laws might not rest on moral arguments for equality. Such bans still stand in the way of same-sex unions in 14 states, and have aroused passionate opposition. The rational basis test is also referred to as 'rational review.' Further Readingįor more on the rational basis test, see this University of Virginia Law Review article, this New York University Law Review article, and this University of Notre Dame Law Review article.This term, the Supreme Court is highly likely to decide the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans. The rational basis test is generally used when in cases where no fundamental rights or suspect classifications are at issue. The intermediate scrutiny test and the strict scrutiny test are considered more stringent than the rational basis test. There are three judicial review tests: the rational basis test, the intermediate scrutiny test, and the strict scrutiny test. To pass the rational basis test, the statute or ordinance must have a legitimate state interest, and there must be a rational connection between the statute's/ordinance's means and goals. A judicial review test is what courts use to determine the constitutionality of a statute or ordinance. The rational basis test is a judicial review test.

Levels of scrutiny