![]() Surely, African Americans are a suspect class and the victims of discrimination throughout the history of the United States. Pure racism is not a compelling government purpose, and even if the government would try and suggest a non-racially motivated purpose, it is likely that that such a blanket action is not narrowly tailored to anything compelling.But in other contexts, it can be more difficult to determine if a government classification is constitutional. Today, if a local government singled out African Americans and forbid them from serving as firemen, this would be almost certainly be considered unconstitutional. If the answer to either of these two questions is no, then the classification is an unconstitutional violation of the Equal Protection Clause.Some government actions easily fit this mold. ![]() ![]() In this instance, the Court will ask if the government’s purpose for the classification of the suspect class is compelling and whether the action taken is narrowly tailored to that purpose. This low-level standard of review is known as “Rational Basis Review,” and is further explained below.If, however, the government classification does single out a suspect class, the Court will probably give the action what is known as “Strict Scrutiny,” or the Court’s least deferential standard of review. The Court may still examine the government action, but it will do so while being as deferential to the legislature as possible. If no such group is being singled out, then the Court will likely not consider there to have been a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. (1938), a suspect class of people is one that is a “discrete and insular minorit.” These are generally groups that have been historically discriminated against. The group being singled out must be what is known as a “suspect class.” As best defined by a famous footnote in United States v. Second, there needs to be some classification, some action taken by the government to single out one group from another.However, a government classification does not necessarily mean than a violation of the Equal Protection Clause has occurred. A federal, state, or local government may not be able to discriminate, but your neighbor is under no such restraint. First, it must be determined if there has been government action in this instance. While slavery is specifically dealt with in the 13th Amendment, inequality is dealt with here.Though race and racial discrimination are still at the heart of the Equal Protection Clause, any unjust government classification – the singling out of one group or another – can be a violation of the Constitution.A modern analysis of an Equal Protection claim requires several steps within a larger framework. After all, this amendment was passed in the wake of the Civil War in attempts to remedy some of injustices that led up to that war, like racial inequality and slavery. It can perhaps be said that the Equal Protection Clause is at the core of the 14th Amendment.
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