equal protection
Equal protection means that a government must apply its laws fairly and cannot treat people differently without a valid reason. Individuals in similar situations should be treated alike under the law.
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies to state governments. Though the Fifth Amendment does not contain an equal protection clause, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted its Due Process Clause to require equal protection from the federal government as well. See: Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1954). The equal protection clause is crucial to the protection of civil rights.
Not all forms of legal distinction are unconstitutional. Courts allow governments to differentiate between individuals if the discrimination meets constitutional standards. When an individual believes that either the federal government or a state government has violated their guaranteed equal rights, that individual is able to bring a lawsuit against that governmental body for relief.
Courts apply different levels of scrutiny to test whether a potentially discriminatory law is valid. These include strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, and rational basis review. The level applied depends on the nature of the classification and the rights affected. Courts rely on precedent to decide which standard to use. Courts may also combine elements of two of the three tests to create an ad hoc test.
[Last reviewed in July of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]
Keywords
- equal protection
- equal protection clause
- VOTING RIGHTS
- voting rights act
- civil rights
- Fourteenth Amendment
- constitutional law
- constitutional amendment
- U.S. CONSTITUTION
- strict scrutiny
- INTERMEDIATE SCRUTINY
- rational basis review
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