How has the Supreme Court interpreted the equal protection clause of the US Constitution?
The Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution is one of the most important and widely cited pieces of constitutional law. It is found in the 14th Amendment, which states that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The Supreme Court of the United States has interpreted this clause to mean that all citizens must be treated equally before the law, regardless of race, gender, religion, or any other factors. The Supreme Court has held that the Equal Protection Clause may be used to strike down laws that discriminate on the basis of race. In particular, in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Court held that laws that segregated public schools on the basis of race violated the Equal Protection Clause. In addition, the Supreme Court has held that, in some circumstances, the Equal Protection Clause applies to gender-based discrimination and other forms of discrimination. The Supreme Court has also held that the Equal Protection Clause does not always require the government to treat everyone “identically.” For instance, the Court has held that laws that classify people on the basis of legitimate government interests, such as public safety or economic necessity, may be upheld even if they treat people differently. However, the Court has also held that classifications must be “narrowly tailored” and must be based on a “compelling governmental interest” in order to be constitutionally permissible.
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