Also known as: equal protection of the laws · equal protections of law · equal protection clause · equal protection
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional guarantee that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. The clause requires that similarly situated persons be treated alike under the law and subjects classifications to varying levels of judicial scrutiny depending on the basis of the distinction.
Elise Everly, born in the state, applies for a state scholarship program open only to long-term residents. The state denies her application because her parents naturalized after her birth. She challenges the denial, claiming the residency rule abridges her rights as a citizen under the Fourteenth Amendment. The court examines whether the classification treats her differently from other citizens born or naturalized in the United States.
Emmett Egan stands trial for a felony. The prosecutor uses peremptory strikes to remove all Black venire members. Egan objects, making a prima facie showing of racial motivation. The prosecutor must then provide a race-neutral reason for each strike, and the trial court decides whether purposeful discrimination occurred.
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Ethan Evans owns a single parcel surrounded by residential zones. The city rezones only his land for commercial use at his request, contrary to the comprehensive plan. Neighboring owners sue, arguing the change benefits one landowner without a legitimate public purpose and denies equal protection to similarly situated parcels.
Edith Eberhardt, an unmarried woman, seeks contraceptives from a licensed pharmacist. State law permits distribution only to married persons. She sues, asserting the distinction burdens her individual right to decide whether to bear a child and violates equal protection by treating unmarried persons differently from married couples.
Elijah Edwards and Esme Ellington, of different races, apply for a marriage license. The clerk refuses under a state statute banning interracial marriage. They sue, claiming the racial classification lacks any legitimate purpose independent of invidious discrimination and infringes their fundamental right to marry.
Empire Logistics relocates an employee and her family to a new state. The state imposes a one-year waiting period before new residents qualify for full welfare benefits. The family challenges the rule as deterring interstate travel and denying equal protection by treating new arrivals differently from longer-term residents.
Racial classifications receive strict scrutiny and must be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest. The Court applies this demanding standard because such classifications are presumptively invalid absent an independent legitimate purpose.
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The clause prohibits strikes based on race. A defendant who makes a prima facie showing of racial motivation shifts the burden to the striking party to offer a race-neutral explanation, after which the court determines whether purposeful discrimination has been proven.
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Yes. Such requirements violate both the right to travel and equal protection when their purpose is to protect the state treasury by discouraging indigent persons from entering the state.
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Spot zoning is invalid when it benefits a single parcel or small area inconsistently with the comprehensive plan and lacks a legitimate public purpose, rendering the change arbitrary.
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…speaks of "persons born or naturalized in the United States." The word also appears both in the Due Process Clause and in the Equal Protection Clause. "Person" is used in other places in the Constitution: in the listing of qualifications for Representatives and Senators, Art. I, § 2, cl. 2, and § 3, cl. 3; in the Apportionment Clause,…