Also known as: rationally related · legitimate state interest · rational basis test · rational basis review
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of judicial review under which a law or classification survives constitutional challenge if it bears a rational relationship to a legitimate governmental objective. The standard applies when no fundamental right or suspect classification is involved. Courts defer to legislative judgments and uphold measures even when they are underinclusive or overinclusive.
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The President issues an order barring entry by nationals from several majority-Muslim countries. Officials cite national security risks from sanctions evasion. A foreign lawyer from one such country challenges the order on Establishment Clause grounds. The court sustains the order because its stated security purpose is legitimate and the entry bar is rationally connected to that purpose.
A state enacts a statute requiring physicians to obtain informed consent and a twenty-four-hour waiting period before performing an abortion. A clinic sues claiming the requirements impose an undue burden. The court applies rational basis review and upholds the statute because the informed-consent and waiting-period rules are rationally related to the state's legitimate interest in protecting potential life and maternal health.
A city ordinance limits occupancy of single-family dwellings to members of the nuclear family. A grandmother who lives with her grandson challenges the ordinance after she is cited for a violation. The court holds that the ordinance fails rational basis review because it bears no rational relationship to the city's asserted interests in controlling density and traffic.
A state prohibits abortions after the first trimester except when necessary to preserve the woman's life or health. A physician challenges the statute on behalf of patients seeking later procedures. The court upholds the ban under rational basis review because the restriction is rationally related to the state's legitimate interest in maternal health and the potentiality of life.
A state finances public schools primarily through local property taxes, resulting in large disparities between wealthy and poor districts. Parents in a low-wealth district sue claiming the system violates equal protection. The court applies rational basis review and sustains the funding scheme because reliance on local taxes is rationally related to the legitimate state interest in preserving local control over education.
A state criminalizes private consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex. Two men arrested under the statute move to dismiss on due process grounds. The court holds that moral disapproval alone does not constitute a legitimate state interest, so the statute fails even rational basis review.
Rational basis review applies when a law neither burdens a fundamental right nor targets a suspect or quasi-suspect class. Courts then ask only whether the classification is rationally related to a legitimate state interest. Gender and race classifications, by contrast, trigger intermediate or strict scrutiny.
No. Moral disapproval of private consensual adult conduct is not a legitimate governmental interest under rational basis review. A statute criminalizing such conduct therefore fails even this deferential standard.
…against the life she carries within her, should the interest of the embryo or fetus not prevail. Logically, of course, a legitimate state interest in this area need not stand or fall on acceptance of the belief that life begins at conception or at some other point prior to live birth. In assessing the State's interest, recognition may…
…interest which is compelling," Bates v. Little Rock , 361 U. S. 516, 524. The law must be shown "necessary, and not merely rationally related
…Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States , 379 U. S., at 258-259. Thus, under commerce, as under due process, adoption of rational basis review
…and traffic congestion. The ordinance distinguishes between different types of family relationships in a manner that is not rationally related
…to propose the same standard of review
No. Under rational basis review a law may be underinclusive or overinclusive and still survive. The classification need only bear a rational relationship to a legitimate purpose. Perfect fit is not required.
When Congress seeks to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment under Section 5, its remedies must be congruent and proportional to a pattern of unconstitutional state conduct. Because age and disability classifications receive only rational basis review, Congress must identify a pattern of irrational state discrimination before it may abrogate state sovereign immunity.