Overview
Equal Protection refers to the idea that a governmental body may not deny people equal protection of its governing laws.The governing bodystate must treat an individual in the same manner as others in similar conditions and circ*mstances.
Permissible Discrimination
It is important to acknowledge that a government is allowed to discriminate against individuals, as long as the discrimination satisfies the equal protection analysis outlined below, and described in full detail in thisSanta Clara Law Review article.
U.S. Constitution
The Fifth Amendment'sDue ProcessClause requires the United States government to practice equal protection.TheFourteenth Amendment'sEqual Protection Clause requires states to practice equal protection.
Equal protection forces a state to govern impartially—not draw distinctions between individuals solely on differences that are irrelevant to a legitimate governmental objective.Thus, the equal protection clause is crucial to the protection ofcivil rights.
Equal Protection Analysis
When an individual believes that either the federal government or a state government has violated their guaranteed equal rights, that individual is able to bring alawsuitagainst that governmental body forrelief.
Based on the type of discrimination alleged, the individual will first need to prove that the governing body actually discriminated against the individual. The individual will need to prove that the governing body's action resulted in actual harm to them.After proving this, the court will typically scrutinize the governmental action in one of several three ways to determine whether the governmental body's action is permissible: these three methodsare referred to asstrict scrutiny,intermediate scrutiny, andrational basis scrutiny. The court will determine which scrutiny the individual will be subject to, relying on legalprecedentto determine which level of scrutiny to use. It is important to note that courts have combined elements of two of the three tests to create anad hoctest.
Further Reading
For more on equal protection, see thisHarvard Law Review article, thisUniversity of Pennsylvania Law Review article, and thisColumbia University Law Review article.
[Last updated in November of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]
