Also known as: legitimate state interests · legitimate governmental interest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A governmental objective that supplies a rational basis for state action under equal protection or due process review. Moral disapproval of a protected class or private consensual conduct does not qualify as such an objective.
Leonard Lowe and other adults with intellectual disabilities applied for a special-use permit to open a group home in a residential neighborhood. The city council denied the permit solely because of neighbors' discomfort with the residents' mental condition. The denial lacked any legitimate state interest and violated equal protection.
Lola Langley and other same-sex couples sought local ordinances protecting them from housing discrimination. A state constitutional amendment barred all such protections for persons based on homosexual or bisexual orientation. The amendment reflected impermissible animosity and lacked a rational relationship to any legitimate state interest.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Lucy Liu sought a development permit to expand her beachfront home. The coastal commission conditioned approval on her granting a public easement across the property. The condition lacked an essential nexus to any legitimate governmental interest that would justify outright denial of the permit.
Lakeshore Industries owned Grand Central Terminal and proposed alterations to improve operations. The city designated the terminal a landmark, blocking the changes and imposing substantial costs. The designation advanced legitimate state interests in historic preservation without effecting a taking.
Lena Lawson sought an abortion after the first trimester. State law prohibited the procedure except to preserve the mother's life. The statute advanced the legitimate state interest in protecting potential life after viability while respecting the woman's liberty interest before that point.
Leah Lamb sought an abortion at a clinic subject to a state informed-consent statute. The law required physicians to provide specific information about alternatives and risks. The requirement advanced legitimate state interests in ensuring informed choice without imposing an undue burden.
No. Moral disapproval standing alone does not supply a legitimate governmental objective under rational basis review. A statute criminalizing private consensual adult same-sex conduct therefore fails even deferential scrutiny.
When the sole basis is prejudice against the residents' mental condition rather than any documented safety or land-use concern. Such a denial violates equal protection even under rational basis review.
The condition must bear an essential nexus to a governmental interest that would justify outright denial of the permit and must be roughly proportional to the development's impact.
Yes. Maintaining a vigorous judiciary and addressing competency concerns are legitimate objectives rationally served by an age-based rule under rational basis review.
No. Traditional moral views alone do not constitute a legitimate state interest sufficient to criminalize private consensual conduct between adults.
…Sherbert v. Verner , 374 U. S. 398, 406 (1963), and that legislative enactments must be narrowly drawn to express only the legitimate state interests at stake. Griswold v. Connecticut , 381 U. S., at 485; Aptheker v. Secretary of State , 378 U. S. 500, 508 (1964); Cantwell v. Connecticut , 310 U. S. 296, 307-308 (1940); see…