Also known as: suspect classifications · suspect class
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A classification based on an immutable characteristic such as race or national origin that has historically been the subject of discrimination. Such classifications trigger strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause and are upheld only if necessary to promote a compelling governmental interest.
Samantha Stone, a physically fit fifty-one-year-old officer, challenges the department's mandatory retirement policy at age fifty. The policy receives only rational basis review because age is not a suspect classification. The court upholds the rule as rationally related to maintaining a capable force.
Stella Shapiro's company seeks to open a group home for individuals with intellectual disabilities in a residential zone. The city requires a special permit that other similar facilities do not need. The court applies rational basis review because mental retardation is not a suspect classification and invalidates the ordinance as applied for lacking any rational basis.
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Sylvia Santos, an illegitimate child, is denied inheritance rights under state law that treats legitimate and illegitimate children differently. The court declines to treat illegitimacy as a suspect classification and applies intermediate scrutiny instead of strict scrutiny.
Scott Summers is prosecuted under a statute criminalizing private consensual same-sex conduct. He argues the law discriminates against homosexuals as a suspect class. The court rejects the claim and applies rational basis review because sexual orientation has not been recognized as a suspect classification.
Stephen Shaw, a voter in a heavily gerrymandered district, claims the map violates equal protection by diluting his party's influence. The court treats the claim as nonjusticiable because partisan affiliation is not a suspect classification and lacks judicially manageable standards.
Serena Soto lives with her grandchild in a single-family home zoned only for nuclear families. The city enforces the ordinance against her extended arrangement. The court applies rational basis review because the classification does not involve a suspect class or fundamental right.
Race and national origin are the paradigmatic suspect classifications because they have historically been the subject of discrimination. Alienage receives suspect treatment in some contexts but is often treated as quasi-suspect. Other traits such as age, wealth, and sexual orientation have been rejected as suspect.
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Strict scrutiny applies. The government must prove that the classification is necessary to promote a compelling governmental interest and that no less restrictive means exist. Most laws using suspect classifications fail this test.
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No. Strict scrutiny requires proof of discriminatory purpose in addition to disparate impact. A facially neutral law that merely produces unequal outcomes receives only rational basis review unless purposeful discrimination is shown.
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Age is not immutable in the same way as race because everyone ages, and age often correlates with legitimate governmental objectives such as physical capability. Therefore age-based distinctions receive only rational basis review.
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…protection claim must fail, since it is not to be judged by the strict scrutiny standard employed when a fundamental interest or suspect classification is involved, see, e. g. , Dunn v. Blumstein , 405 U. S. 330 (1972), and Korematsu v. United States , 323 U. S. 214 (1944), or by the somewhat less strict standard of Craig v. Boren ,…