Also known as: legitimate purposes · legitimate aim
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A justification for governmental action or private conduct that is valid under the applicable legal standard and is not motivated by invidious discrimination or malice. The justification must be independent of any forbidden purpose such as racial animus and must bear a rational relationship to the means chosen when rational basis review applies.
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Elena and Lillian, an interracial couple, apply for a marriage license in a state that refuses to recognize their union. The state defends the refusal by citing administrative convenience in tracking household records. A court finds the asserted justification insufficient because it is not independent of racial considerations and therefore fails to supply a legitimate purpose under the Equal Protection Clause.
A city enacts an ordinance that prohibits most commercial advertising on trucks but allows owners to advertise their own businesses. Truck owners challenge the law as underinclusive. The court upholds the measure because the distinction rationally advances the city's goal of reducing traffic distractions and therefore rests on a legitimate purpose even though the rule is not perfectly tailored.
A purpose is illegitimate when it is rooted in racial animus or other invidious discrimination rather than an independent, non-discriminatory objective. Courts apply strict scrutiny to racial classifications and will not uphold them without a legitimate purpose detached from forbidden motives.
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No. Under rational basis review a law may be underinclusive or overinclusive and still serve a legitimate purpose so long as it is rationally related to that purpose. Courts defer to legislative judgments about the appropriate first steps toward addressing a problem.
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