JOUR 302 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Strict Scrutiny, First Amendment To The United States Constitution, Ageism
Constitutional Tests
- Rational Basis Test
- The level of judicial review for determining the constitutionality of a federal or
state statute that does not implicate either a fundamental right or a suspect
classification under the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of
the constitution
- When a court concluded that there is no fundamental liberty interest or suspect
classification at stake the law is presumed to be Constitutional unless it fails the
rational basis test
- Under the rational basis tests the courts will uphold a law if it is rationally related
to a legitimate government purpose
- The challenger of the constitutionality of the statute has the burden of proving
that there is no conceivable legitimate purpose or that the law is not rationally
related to it
- This test is the most deferential of the three levels of review in due process or
equal protection analysis (the other two levels being intermediate scrutiny and
strict scrutiny) and it requires only a minimum level of judicial scrutiny
- Courts use the rational basis test when analyzing the constitutionality of
statutes involving curfews, economic/tax increases, age discrimination,
disability discrimination or the Congressional regulation of aliens
- Ex) NY court trying to limit amount of hours bakers can work a
week
- Supreme Court ruled state court could not do this b/c there
was no legitimate government purpose to the law
- Bakers argued it interfered with their right to life, liberty and
pursuit of happiness
- Usually the government wins though
- Intermediate Scrutiny
- Test used in come contexts to determine a law’s constitutionality
- To pass intermediate scrutiny the challenged law must further an important
government interest by means that are substantially related to that interest
- As the name implies, is less rigorous than strict scrutiny but more rigorous than
rational basis review
- Intermediate scrutiny is used in equal protection challenges to gender
classifications as well as in some 1st amendment cases
- Government has to provide proof burden is on them and is more difficult for them
to win
- Issues of commercial speech/marketing fall in this category
- Ex) Gay marriage at one time fell under the intermediate scrutiny as a
gender issue
- Ex) Trans issues as an issue of gender
- Ex) Bad Frog Beer and case against NY
Document Summary
When a court concluded that there is no fundamental liberty interest or suspect classification at stake the law is presumed to be constitutional unless it fails the rational basis test. Under the rational basis tests the courts will uphold a law if it is rationally related to a legitimate government purpose. The challenger of the constitutionality of the statute has the burden of proving that there is no conceivable legitimate purpose or that the law is not rationally related to it. This test is the most deferential of the three levels of review in due process or equal protection analysis (the other two levels being intermediate scrutiny and strict scrutiny) and it requires only a minimum level of judicial scrutiny. Courts use the rational basis test when analyzing the constitutionality of statutes involving curfews, economic/tax increases, age discrimination, disability discrimination or the congressional regulation of aliens. Ex) ny court trying to limit amount of hours bakers can work a week.
