What are the suspect classes for strict scrutiny?
Asked by: Stefan White | Last update: February 19, 2026Score: 4.3/5 (60 votes)
Strict scrutiny classifications in U.S. law apply to government actions based on race, national origin, and alienage, or those burdening fundamental rights, requiring the government to prove the law is narrowly tailored to a compelling government interest; these classifications are presumed unconstitutional and are subject to the highest judicial review, shifting the burden to the state to justify them, making them very difficult to uphold.
What are the suspect classes in strict scrutiny?
Strict scrutiny is a form of judicial review that courts in the United States use to determine the constitutionality of government action that burdens a fundamental right or involves a suspect classification (including race, religion, national origin, and alienage).
What are the four suspect categories?
The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment imposes a restraint on the governmental use of suspect classification. There are four generally agreed-upon suspect classifications: race, religion, national origin, and alienage.
How to determine classifications for suspect class factors?
Legal Definitions - Suspect classification
Courts determine these classifications by examining factors like whether the group is a "discrete and insular minority" with inherent traits, historical disadvantage, and a lack of political representation.
What are the three levels of scrutiny?
The three levels of judicial scrutiny in U.S. constitutional law are Strict Scrutiny, Intermediate Scrutiny, and Rational Basis Review, used by courts to test if a law violates rights, with each level setting a different standard for the government to prove its action is constitutional, ranging from very difficult (strict) to very easy (rational basis). They determine if a law serves a "compelling" interest (strict), an "important" interest (intermediate), or a "legitimate" interest (rational basis) and if the means used are appropriately tailored.
Constitutional Law tutorial: Suspect Classes | quimbee.com
Is age a suspect class?
Categories that receive intermediate scrutiny, such as gender. Less stringent than suspect classifications. Categories that do not trigger heightened scrutiny, such as age. Subject to rational basis review, the lowest level of scrutiny.
What classifications get intermediate scrutiny?
Protected Classes
In addition to statutes which discriminate based on gender, statutes which discriminate based on illegitimacy (i.e. children born out of wedlock) are also subject to intermediate scrutiny, according to Matthews v. Lucas, 427 U.S. 495 (1976) and Trimble v. Gordon, 430 U.S. 762 (1976).
Is disability a quasi-suspect class?
And the U.S. Supreme Court's 1985 decision finding that disability is not a suspect class for purposes of federal equal protection review effectively foreclosed federal constitutional law as a pathway to enhance protections for people with disabilities.
Is wealth a suspect class?
Wealth or indigency is not a per se suspect classification but it must be related to some interest that is fundamental, and Rodriguez doctrinally imposed a considerable barrier to the discovery or creation of additional fundamental interests.
What are the criteria for strict scrutiny?
To pass the strict scrutiny test, a law must be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest. The same test applies whether the racial classification aims to benefit or harm a racial group. Strict scrutiny also applies whether or not race is the only criteria used to classify.
What is the difference between suspect class and quasi-suspect class?
How does it differ from suspect classification? Suspect classifications involve race or national origin and are subject to strict scrutiny, while quasi-suspect classifications are analyzed under intermediate scrutiny.
What level of scrutiny is age discrimination?
The Court historically applied a minimal scrutiny standard to age-related cases, meaning that plaintiffs face a high burden of proof, making it challenging to win these cases compared to discrimination based on race or gender, which receive stricter scrutiny.
Which of the following governmental classifications would face strict judicial scrutiny as a suspect classification?
All racial classifications are subject to strict scrutiny under equal protection clause (Suspect classification). 3. This requires the programs utilizing such classifications must be "narrowly tailored" to "further compelling governmental interest".
Is strict scrutiny always the same?
Usually, strict scrutiny will result in invalidation of the challenged classification--but not always, as illustrated by Korematsu v. United States, in which the Court upholds a military exclusion order directed at Japanese-Americans during World War II.
Which of the following cases of discrimination would be subject to strict scrutiny?
Laws that discriminate based on race or national origin must meet the highest standard of court review — strict scrutiny. This means the law must further a “compelling government interest” and be narrowly tailored to achieve that interest.
What is a class of one equal protection claim?
Class-of-one claims, however, merely allege that the plaintiff was intentionally singled out from other similarly situated individuals and subjected to unequal treatment for no rational, legitimate reason. The plaintiff need not allege that the discrimination was motivated by his or her membership in a larger class.
What are the 5 social classes?
The 5 common social classes, particularly in the U.S., are the Upper Class, Upper-Middle Class, Middle Class, Working Class, and Lower Class, representing tiers based on income, education, wealth, and occupation, though models can vary with subdivisions like lower-middle or upper-upper. These categories help sociologists and individuals understand societal hierarchies, from the affluent and highly educated to those struggling with basic needs, says Gallup News.
What are the 6 protected classes under ECOA?
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) protects you from discrimination in credit transactions based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation/gender identity), marital status, age, receipt of public assistance income, or exercising your consumer credit rights, ensuring fair treatment for all creditworthy applicants and requiring creditors to state reasons for denial.
Is age a quasi-suspect class?
Is age discrimination a suspect or quasi-suspect class under the Equal Protection Clause? It is neither a suspect nor a quasi-suspect class. It is, however, barred by statute.
What are the 4 categories of disabilities?
The four main types of disability are generally categorized as Physical, Sensory, Intellectual/Developmental, and Mental/Behavioral, encompassing limitations in movement, senses (sight/hearing), learning/cognitive functions, and mental health/emotional well-being, respectively, though specific classifications can vary.
Is disability strict scrutiny?
Finally, Part V of this Note concludes that Congress has determined, both factually and statutorily, that the disabled are members of a suspect class, and therefore, the strict scrutiny standard of review must be applied because of deference to Congress in its fact-finding capacity and in the exercise of its plenary ...
What are the 12 categories listed in the ADA?
There are 12 categories of places of public accommodation under the ADA:
- Places of lodging.
- Food and drink establishments.
- Place os exhibition or entertainment.
- Places of publich gathering.
- Sales or rental establishments.
- Service establishments.
- Public transportation terminals, depots or stations.
What are the suspect classes under equal protection?
Suspect class
The Supreme Court recognizes race, national origin, and religion as suspect classes; it therefore analyzes any government action that discriminates against these classes under strict scrutiny.
How to pass intermediate scrutiny?
If a plaintiff establishes that intermediate scrutiny should apply to a law, the state must demonstrate the law is “substantially related to an important governmental interest” for it to survive.
What are the three tiers of scrutiny?
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.