Also known as: rational levels of judicial review · rational basis review
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A deferential standard of judicial review under which a law or classification is upheld if rationally related to a legitimate government interest.
The state enacts a rule requiring all police officers to retire at age fifty. Robert Rivera, a fit fifty-one-year-old officer, sues claiming the rule violates equal protection. The court applies rational basis review and upholds the rule because the age limit bears a rational connection to maintaining a physically capable force.
The President issues an order barring entry of pilots from several majority-Muslim countries after intelligence reports flag security risks. Angelica, a foreign national denied training, sues under the Establishment Clause. The court defers to the executive and upholds the order because it states a national security purpose rationally connected to the restrictions.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Congress bans possession of firearms in school zones without requiring proof of interstate commerce effects. A student charged under the statute moves to dismiss. The court strikes the law because the prohibition exceeds Congress's commerce power even under deferential review of legislative judgments.
A city adopts a rule limiting new firefighter hires to applicants under age thirty-five. A thirty-eight-year-old applicant sues claiming the age cutoff violates equal protection. The court applies rational basis review and upholds the rule because the cutoff is rationally related to ensuring physical fitness for the job.
A school district assigns students to schools based on race to achieve racial balance. Parents of affected children sue claiming equal protection violations. The court applies strict scrutiny and invalidates the plan because the racial classifications fail narrow tailoring even though rational basis would not suffice.
Congress amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to allow private damages suits against states. State employees sue for age-based demotions. The court holds that Congress lacked power under Section Five because age classifications receive only rational basis review and the remedy is not congruent and proportional.
Rational basis review applies to classifications that do not involve suspect classes or fundamental rights. Courts uphold the law if any rational relationship exists to a legitimate government purpose. Federal alienage distinctions and age classifications receive this deferential standard.
No. The inquiry focuses on whether the stated purpose is legitimate and the classification is rationally related to it. Extrinsic statements suggesting bias do not invalidate the measure when the text supplies an independent rational basis.
Congress may enforce the Fourteenth Amendment only through congruent and proportional remedies. When a classification receives rational basis review, Congress must identify a pattern of unconstitutional state conduct before imposing damages liability on states.
…(1996); Nordlinger v. Hahn , 505 U. S. 1, 11-12 (1992). Laws such as economic or tax legislation that are scrutinized under rational basis review normally pass constitutional muster, since "the Constitution presumes that even improvident decisions will eventually be rectified by the democratic processes." Cleburne v. Cleburne Living…