Equal Protection Flashcards
A large retailer with stores in all 50 states, decided not to stock a national men’s magazine criticized for regularly featuring content that was offensive to women. The magazine sued, arguing that action violated its freedom of expression. If a federal judge dismisses the suit, it would be because:
There is no state action.
Following an escalating series of confrontations among neighbors in a condominium complex over political yard signs during a tense election year, the complex’s private homeowners’ association, which governs members’ land use, bans all yard signs except “for sale” signs. A homeowner sues, claiming that the rule is unconstitutional. A reviewing court should:
Dismiss the suit, because the homeowners’ association is a private actor.
State H passes a state law criminalizing speech that is “critical of state officials.” After the law is challenged on First Amendment grounds, the state files a motion to dismiss, arguing that state laws are not subject to the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. The reviewing judge should:
Deny the motion to dismiss, because under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, the First Amendment is considered fundamental to our system of ordered liberty.
The year is 1850. A state adopts a law declaring a particular religion to be its official state religion. Residents of the state belonging to another faith community file a lawsuit in federal court asserting that the law violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. A reviewing court is most likely to declare the law:
Constitutional, because the First Amendment does not impose any restrictions on the state.
At a public high school, 80% of the students are White, while 20% of the students are children of Nation A immigrants who were born in the United States. After a single incident of violence involving rival White and Nation A groups, the school decided to place all ninth-grade students of Nation A descent in a separate class section. While students in this section receive the same instruction as other ninth-grade students within the high school, they do not interact with students outside their section during school hours. A court reviewing the constitutionality of the school policy is most likely to rule that the policy is:
Unconstitutional, because the policy is not narrowly tailored to further the district’s compelling interest in school security.
A man had been diagnosed with autism at an early age. After he was fired from his job at the state Department of Environmental Protection, the man files a lawsuit alleging that he was dismissed because he is autistic and that the dismissal violates the Equal Protection Clause. Which of the following pieces of evidence would be least helpful to the man’s argument that unequal treatment against persons with autism violates the Equal Protection Clause?
Evidence that Congress recently enacted a bill prohibiting discrimination based on disability
In an effort to cut down on loud parties thrown by university students, a town passes a zoning law permitting only single-family dwellings in the neighborhood where a local college is situated. The law defines “family” as “any number of related persons but no more than three unrelated persons.” Five unrelated university students that wish to live together in that neighborhood file a lawsuit, arguing that the law violates the Equal Protection Clause. A reviewing court is most likely to find that the zoning ordinance is:
Constitutional, even though the law is both underinclusive and overinclusive.
A state’s adoption law prohibits same-sex married couples from adopting children but allows opposite-sex married couples to adopt. Two men, a married couple that want to adopt a child in the state, challenge the law under the Equal Protection Clause. In response, the state attorney general argues that the law’s purpose is to express moral disapproval of same-sex couples. A court is most likely to hold that the statute is:
Unconstitutional, because the law is not rationally related to a legitimate state interest.
The city recently passed a family leave law that allows female employees to take up to eight weeks of unpaid leave to care for sick family members but does not offer the benefit to male employees. The law’s preamble states that “the purpose of this law is to recognize the unique burden that women carry as primary caregivers for their families.” A male employee who is denied family leave files a constitutional challenge to the law. A reviewing court is likely to hold that the policy is:
Unconstitutional, because the policy is not substantially related to an important governmental interest.
Under the Foreign Service Act of 1946, employees of the United States’ State Department that are based overseas must retire at the age of 60. The Department does not have a mandatory retirement age for domestic employees. The State Department maintains that the policy is needed to recruit and retain high-quality performers by ensuring that there will be a steady supply of promotion opportunities available to younger employees. An overseas-based foreign service officer who has reached the mandatory retirement age, challenges the policy as a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. A reviewing court is most likely to hold that the policy is:
Constitutional, because the policy is rationally related to a legitimate government interest.
A state enacts a statute prohibiting mixed-race couples from adopting children. When a man and a woman, a mixed-race married couple, are prevented from adopting a child within the state, they file a constitutional challenge to the law. A reviewing court is most likely to declare the law is:
Unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, unless the state can show that the law is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.
Applicants to the State University Law School are evaluated on a point scale from 1 to 100. The score comprises five separate criteria: 30 points are allocated based on the strength of their LSAT, 30 points based on the strength of their undergraduate GPA, 25 points if the applicant is a member of an “underrepresented racial minority,” 10 points based on the strength of their demonstrated prior interest in law, and 5 points based on the strength of their leadership potential. A judge reviewing the school’s admissions policy will likely find that the policy is:
Unconstitutional, because the creation of a racially diverse student body is not a compelling state interest.
Federal law prohibits the possession of a certain drug with the intent to distribute it. In addition, the same law provides for longer jail sentences if the defendant is in possession of a derivative of this drug than it does for an equal or larger amount of the drug possessed in its original form. After a woman, who is Black, is given an enhanced sentence for possession with intent to distribute the derivative form of the drug, she alleges that the law violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The woman’s constitutional challenge is based solely on evidence that 92% of the defendants convicted of possession of the derivative are Black, while a large majority of the defendants convicted of the original form are white. A reviewing judge will most likely rule that the law is:
Constitutional, because the law is rationally related to a legitimate state interest.
State A offers a state medical insurance plan for low-income residents. Under the plan, expenses related to certain forms of birth control are covered, including oral contraceptives and intra-uterine devices. Because of the high costs associated with the procedure, the plan does not cover vasectomies. After the state denies his application for reimbursement for his vasectomy, a person files a lawsuit against the state alleging that its refusal to provide reimbursement is unconstitutional sex discrimination. A reviewing court is most likely to find the state policy is:
Constitutional, because the policy is rationally related to a legitimate government interest.
A town’s population is 80% Latino. Recently, the town police department adopted a hiring policy requiring the department to promote a “critical mass” of officers who are of Latin descent into leadership positions within the department. After she was denied a promotion, an Asian-American officer, files a lawsuit alleging that the department’s policy violates the Equal Protection Clause. In response, the department would be most likely to prevail if it could show that:
The policy is designed to serve the state’s compelling interest in remedying a pattern and practice of identified racial discrimination in promotions at the town’s Police Department.
