Also known as: heightened scrutiny · strict scrutiny · intermediate scrutiny
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of constitutional review more demanding than rational basis review. Under this standard the government must demonstrate that a classification or restriction serves an important or compelling interest and that the means chosen are substantially related or narrowly tailored to that interest.
City officials enacted an ordinance that singled out the animal-slaughter practices of a particular religious group. When the group challenged the law, the court applied heightened judicial scrutiny because the measure was not neutral or generally applicable. The city could not show that the ordinance was necessary to serve a compelling interest, so the law was invalidated.
A city council created a program reserving a percentage of public contracts for minority-owned businesses. The program was challenged by a nonminority contractor. The court applied heightened judicial scrutiny and required the city to produce evidence of specific past discrimination in the local industry rather than relying on general societal discrimination.
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A city policy barred foster agencies from declining to certify same-sex couples but allowed officials to grant individualized exemptions for other reasons. A religiously affiliated agency refused to certify same-sex couples and sued. The court applied heightened judicial scrutiny because the policy was not generally applicable and required the city to justify the policy under that standard.
State law prohibited married couples from using contraceptives and imposed criminal penalties on physicians who provided them. A married couple and their doctor challenged the statute. The court applied heightened judicial scrutiny because the law intruded on the fundamental right of marital privacy and struck the statute down.
A state university maintained a policy that admitted only men to its undergraduate program. Female applicants denied admission sued. The court applied heightened judicial scrutiny and required the state to show an exceedingly persuasive justification that was substantially related to an important governmental objective.
A city condemned private homes to transfer the land to a private developer for a new office park. Homeowners challenged the taking. The court declined to apply heightened judicial scrutiny and instead reviewed the action under rational basis because no fundamental right was implicated.
Gender classifications receive intermediate scrutiny, a form of heightened judicial scrutiny. The government must show an exceedingly persuasive justification that the classification is substantially related to an important governmental objective.
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A law triggers strict scrutiny, a form of heightened judicial scrutiny, when it is not neutral or generally applicable. This occurs when the law targets religious practice or allows discretionary exemptions that undermine general applicability.
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Race-based programs are subject to strict scrutiny, a form of heightened judicial scrutiny. The government must produce a strong evidentiary basis of specific past discrimination in the relevant jurisdiction and industry and show that the program is narrowly tailored to remedy that discrimination.
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Yes. State interference with the intimate marital relationship, such as banning contraceptive use by married couples, is subject to heightened judicial scrutiny because it burdens a fundamental liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause.
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…law restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples constituted a classification on the basis of sex and was therefore subject to strict scrutiny under the Hawaii Constitution. Baehr v. Lewin , 74 Haw. 530, 852 P. 2d 44. Although this decision did not mandate that same-sex marriage be allowed, some States were concerned by its…