Suspect classification
Encyclopedia
In American
jurisprudence
, a suspect classification is any classification of groups meeting a series of criteria suggesting they are likely the subject of discrimination. These classes receive closer scrutiny by courts when an Equal Protection
claim alleging unconstitutional discrimination is asserted against a law, regulation, or other government action.
is applied to government action that affect groups that fall under a "suspect classification." The US Supreme Court has mentioned a variety of criteria that, in some combination, may qualify a group as a suspect classification, but the Court has not declared that any particular set of criteria are either necessary or sufficient to qualify.
Some of the criteria that have been cited include:
and alienage as suspect classes; it therefore analyzes any government action that discriminates against these classes under strict scrutiny
.
In Perry v. Schwarzenegger
, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in its Findings of Fact commented that sexual orientation
could be considered a suspect class and, based upon the facts presented, strict scrutiny was applied in the Court's Findings and Ruling The U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska held the same in Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning
, but was reversed on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
.
law, alienage of legal aliens
is a suspect class. As such, state actions are analyzed according to strict scrutiny. In contrast, because the United States Congress
has the power to regulate immigration
, federal
government action that discriminates based on alienage will receive rational basis scrutiny. State acts that affect illegal aliens
are generally analyzed with rational basis review unless the topic is education of children. In which case, they are analyzed under intermediate scrutiny based on Plyler v. Doe
, 467 U.S. 202 (1982).
is applied to groups that fall under a "quasi-suspect classification." Gender
and marital status of someone's parents at birth
have been held to be Quasi-suspect classes.
is applied to all other discriminatory statutes. Rational basis scrutiny currently covers all other discriminatory criteria—e.g., age
, disability
, wealth, political preference, political affiliation, or ex-felons.
, ethnic, religion or national
origin is almost always unconstitutional, unless it is a compelling, narrowly tailored and temporary piece of legislation dealing with national security
, defense, or affirmative action
. Korematsu v. United States
, regarding Japanese internment, and Grutter v. Bollinger
, upholding affirmative action based upon racial diversity, are the only cases in which a racially discriminatory law has been upheld under the strict scrutiny test.
Strict scrutiny is also applied to restrictions of any "fundamental right," regardless of the group involved.
is involved, the courts are more likely to uphold the discriminatory law, particularly if it is based on real, fact-based, biological differences between the sexes, as opposed to gender-based stereotypes.
is used, it means that the classification is one that overwhelmingly tends to be rational, e.g. distinguishing criminals from non-criminals. This leads to wide political discretion and a focus of judicial resources to other cases where the classification employed tends to be more suspicious, and thus close judicial balancing is needed.
holdings impose a minimum standard to which each State
must adhere. Hence, a State law that discriminates against citizens because of their race, must be reviewed by the applicable State and inferior federal courts
using the strict scrutiny basis of review. A State may, generally, choose to give its citizens more rights or protections than the minimum federal
standard when considering state law. For example, in 2008 the Supreme Court of California
used the strict scrutiny basis of review to strike down a California
statute denying legal recognition of same-sex marriages.
California
classifies sexual orientation as a suspect class under state law. Connecticut
and Iowa
classify sexual orientation as a quasi-suspect class under their respective state laws.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
, a suspect classification is any classification of groups meeting a series of criteria suggesting they are likely the subject of discrimination. These classes receive closer scrutiny by courts when an Equal Protection
Equal Protection Clause
The Equal Protection Clause, part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, provides that "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"...
claim alleging unconstitutional discrimination is asserted against a law, regulation, or other government action.
Federal classifications
Strict scrutinyStrict scrutiny
Strict scrutiny is the most stringent standard of judicial review used by United States courts. It is part of the hierarchy of standards that courts use to weigh the government's interest against a constitutional right or principle. The lesser standards are rational basis review and exacting or...
is applied to government action that affect groups that fall under a "suspect classification." The US Supreme Court has mentioned a variety of criteria that, in some combination, may qualify a group as a suspect classification, but the Court has not declared that any particular set of criteria are either necessary or sufficient to qualify.
Some of the criteria that have been cited include:
- The group has historically been discriminated against, and/or have been subject to prejudice, hostility, and/or stigma, perhaps due, at least in part, to stereotypes.
- They possess an immutable and/or highly visible trait.
- They are powerless to protect themselves via the political process. (The group is a "discrete" and "insular" minority.)
- The group's distinguishing characteristic does not inhibit it from contributing meaningfully to society.
Suspect class
The Supreme Court has recognized race, national origin, religionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and alienage as suspect classes; it therefore analyzes any government action that discriminates against these classes under strict scrutiny
Strict scrutiny
Strict scrutiny is the most stringent standard of judicial review used by United States courts. It is part of the hierarchy of standards that courts use to weigh the government's interest against a constitutional right or principle. The lesser standards are rational basis review and exacting or...
.
In Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Perry v. Schwarzenegger is a federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California challenging the federal constitutionality of Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative that amended the California Constitution to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples,...
, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in its Findings of Fact commented that sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
could be considered a suspect class and, based upon the facts presented, strict scrutiny was applied in the Court's Findings and Ruling The U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska held the same in Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning
Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning
Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning, 455 F.3d 859 , was a federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska and decided on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit challenging the federal constitutionality of Nebraska Initiative...
, but was reversed on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Arkansas* Western District of Arkansas...
.
Alienage
Alienage is a unique class. For purpose of stateU.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
law, alienage of legal aliens
Alien (law)
In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...
is a suspect class. As such, state actions are analyzed according to strict scrutiny. In contrast, because the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
has the power to regulate immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
government action that discriminates based on alienage will receive rational basis scrutiny. State acts that affect illegal aliens
Alien (law)
In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...
are generally analyzed with rational basis review unless the topic is education of children. In which case, they are analyzed under intermediate scrutiny based on Plyler v. Doe
Plyler v. Doe
Plyler v. Doe, , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a state statute denying funding for education to illegal immigrants and simultaneously struck down a municipal school district's attempt to charge illegal immigrants an annual $1,000 tuition fee for each illegal...
, 467 U.S. 202 (1982).
Quasi-suspect class
Intermediate scrutinyIntermediate scrutiny
Intermediate scrutiny, in U.S. constitutional law, is the second level of deciding issues using judicial review. The other levels are typically referred to as rational basis review and strict scrutiny ....
is applied to groups that fall under a "quasi-suspect classification." Gender
and marital status of someone's parents at birth
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
have been held to be Quasi-suspect classes.
All others
Rational basis scrutinyRational basis review
Rational basis review, in U.S. constitutional law, refers to a level of scrutiny applied by courts when deciding cases presenting constitutional due process or equal protection issues related to the Fifth Amendment or Fourteenth Amendment. Rational basis is the lowest level of scrutiny that a...
is applied to all other discriminatory statutes. Rational basis scrutiny currently covers all other discriminatory criteria—e.g., age
Ageing
Ageing or aging is the accumulation of changes in a person over time. Ageing in humans refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological, and social change. Some dimensions of ageing grow and expand over time, while others decline...
, disability
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
, wealth, political preference, political affiliation, or ex-felons.
Strict scrutiny
The practical result of this legal doctrine is that government sponsored discrimination on the account of a citizen's race, skin colorColor
Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
, ethnic, religion or national
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
origin is almost always unconstitutional, unless it is a compelling, narrowly tailored and temporary piece of legislation dealing with national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
, defense, or affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
. Korematsu v. United States
Korematsu v. United States
Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II....
, regarding Japanese internment, and Grutter v. Bollinger
Grutter v. Bollinger
Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Michigan Law School...
, upholding affirmative action based upon racial diversity, are the only cases in which a racially discriminatory law has been upheld under the strict scrutiny test.
Strict scrutiny is also applied to restrictions of any "fundamental right," regardless of the group involved.
Intermediate scrutiny
When intermediate scrutinyIntermediate scrutiny
Intermediate scrutiny, in U.S. constitutional law, is the second level of deciding issues using judicial review. The other levels are typically referred to as rational basis review and strict scrutiny ....
is involved, the courts are more likely to uphold the discriminatory law, particularly if it is based on real, fact-based, biological differences between the sexes, as opposed to gender-based stereotypes.
Rational basis
When rational basis reviewRational basis review
Rational basis review, in U.S. constitutional law, refers to a level of scrutiny applied by courts when deciding cases presenting constitutional due process or equal protection issues related to the Fifth Amendment or Fourteenth Amendment. Rational basis is the lowest level of scrutiny that a...
is used, it means that the classification is one that overwhelmingly tends to be rational, e.g. distinguishing criminals from non-criminals. This leads to wide political discretion and a focus of judicial resources to other cases where the classification employed tends to be more suspicious, and thus close judicial balancing is needed.
Classifications under state law
The Supreme Court'sSupreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
holdings impose a minimum standard to which each State
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
must adhere. Hence, a State law that discriminates against citizens because of their race, must be reviewed by the applicable State and inferior federal courts
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
using the strict scrutiny basis of review. A State may, generally, choose to give its citizens more rights or protections than the minimum federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
standard when considering state law. For example, in 2008 the Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
used the strict scrutiny basis of review to strike down a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
statute denying legal recognition of same-sex marriages.
California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
classifies sexual orientation as a suspect class under state law. Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
classify sexual orientation as a quasi-suspect class under their respective state laws.