Also known as: intermediate-level review · intermediate scrutiny
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of judicial review positioned between rational basis review and strict scrutiny. The government must demonstrate an important objective and show that the classification or regulation is substantially related to that objective.
Ines Ibarra and her husband jointly own farmland. A state statute designates the husband as head of household and permits him alone to pledge the property for a loan. Ines challenges the statute after her husband encumbers the land without her consent. The court applies intermediate level review and invalidates the statute because the gender classification lacks an exceedingly persuasive justification substantially related to any important interest.
Ideal Solutions operates a cable system. A federal regulation requires carriage of local broadcast stations on its channels, displacing some of its preferred programming. Ideal Solutions sues, claiming the rule burdens its speech. The court subjects the content-neutral mandate to intermediate level review and upholds it after finding the rule advances important interests in preserving broadcast access without burdening substantially more speech than necessary.
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Isabelle Inman seeks admission to a state-supported military college that excludes women. The state defends the policy by citing educational benefits of single-sex training. The court applies intermediate level review and strikes down the exclusion because the state fails to supply an exceedingly persuasive justification showing the classification is substantially related to a genuine important objective rather than overbroad stereotypes.
Ivy Ibarra brings a paternity action on behalf of her nonmarital child more than six years after birth. State law bars such suits after six years while permitting marital children to seek support indefinitely. The court subjects the illegitimacy classification to intermediate level review and invalidates the limitation because it is not substantially related to preventing stale claims.
Integrity Partners posts temporary directional signs for its events. A town ordinance imposes stricter size and duration limits on directional signs than on ideological or political signs. Integrity Partners challenges the code. The court rejects intermediate level review for the content-based distinctions and instead applies strict scrutiny, invalidating the ordinance because the distinctions fail to survive the required scrutiny.
Imperial Motors holds copyrights in classic films. A federal statute extends copyright terms by twenty years for existing works. Imperial Motors challenges the extension as exceeding Congress's power. The court applies rational basis review rather than intermediate level review and upholds the statute because the extension is a rational exercise of legislative authority over intellectual property.
An important interest lies between a merely legitimate interest and a compelling one. Courts have recognized interests such as preventing teenage pregnancy, promoting grid stability, and preserving broadcast diversity when supported by evidence rather than stereotypes.
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The classification or regulation must be substantially related to the important interest rather than narrowly tailored to a compelling interest. This permits somewhat greater flexibility while still demanding a close fit and rejection of overbroad generalizations.
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Gender classifications and certain content-neutral speech regulations receive intermediate level review. Illegitimacy classifications have also been reviewed under this standard in some cases.
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The government bears the burden of proof under intermediate level review. It must supply an exceedingly persuasive justification showing both an important objective and a substantial relationship.
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…holding attempted by RFRA. Even assuming RFRA would be interpreted in effect to mandate some lesser test, say, one equivalent to intermediate scrutiny, the statute nevertheless would require searching judicial scrutiny of state law with the attendant likelihood of invalidation. This is a considerable congressional intrusion into the…