How has the Supreme Court interpreted the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees that all people will receive “equal protection of the laws.” This means that the law must treat people equally and not discriminate based on race, gender, religion, or other characteristics. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Equal Protection Clause in various ways over the years. In its most famous ruling, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the Court determined that segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause. This ruling reversed the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision which had established the “separate but equal” doctrine that allowed for segregation in a limited form. Since then, the Court has regularly used the Equal Protection Clause as a basis for striking down laws which treat groups of people differently. For example, in Loving v. Virginia, the Court determined that laws prohibiting interracial marriage violated the Equal Protection Clause. The Supreme Court has also held that states have an obligation to provide all citizens with equal access to the electoral process. In Reynolds v. Sims, the Court held that the Equal Protection Clause requires states to draw district lines in a manner that allows for equal representation in the legislature. This ruling is widely considered to be the basis for modern requirements for fair voting districts. Overall, the Supreme Court has consistently interpreted the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as a guarantee for equal treatment under the law for all citizens regardless of race, gender, or other characteristics. The Court has used this interpretation to strike down laws that treated people differently as well as to provide all citizens with equal access to the electoral process.

How has the Supreme Court interpreted the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

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