Equal Protection Flashcards
In order to ensure the high quality of tutors in state public schools, a state law requires public schools to hire only tutors licensed by the state. To obtain a license, a tutor is required to achieve a passing score on a state-administered exam in the tutor’s area of specialty. On several occasions, an organization representing tutors licensed in the state has successfully lobbied against proposed legislation that would have eased the licensing requirement.
An out-of-state tutoring company would like to conduct business in the state, but very few of its tutors are licensed by the state. The company has sued to challenge the law.
Is the company likely to prevail?
ANSWER: No, because the law is rationally related to a legitimate state interest.
The law is discriminatory because it prevents tutors not licensed by the state from tutoring in the state’s public schools but allows licensed tutors to do so.
If the law discriminates in the availability of a fundamental liberty:
A discriminatory law that substantially impacts a fundamental right must satisfy strict scrutiny.
- the right to procreate
Apply strict scrutiny if a law discriminates against different groups in their pursuit of the following liberties:
- the right to vote
- the right to travel within the U.S.
A state law requires that anyone convicted for the second time of a sex offense serve a specified minimum prison sentence and be sterilized. Statistics show that 50% of those convicted of sex offenses in the state over the past five years are members of racial minority groups, whereas the members of those groups account for only 15% of the state’s general population. A significant majority of convicted sex offenders are male.
Which of the following would be the strongest argument in challenging the constitutionality of the law under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?
ANSWER: The requirement of sterilization deprives a select group of persons of a fundamental right, and it is not necessary to serve a compelling governmental interest.
The state law discriminates against twice-convicted sex offenders by requiring them to be sterilized. The requirement of sterilization deprives this select group of persons of their fundamental right to procreate, so the law is subject to strict scrutiny.
The law has a disproportionate impact on racial minorities since they constitute 50% of convicted sex offenders but only 15% of the general population. However, the law is not subject to strict scrutiny on this basis because there is no indication that it was enacted to intentionally target this suspect class.
Age discrimination
Rational basis test
No rational relation to legitimate state interest
Equal Protection groups that trigger heightened scrutiny
