Suspect Classification

Suspect Classification The Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibit federal and state governments from engaging in certain forms of discriminatory behavior. Not all government discrimination is unconstitutional, however. It is legitimate for the law to treat individuals differently if such classification is reasonable and designed to accomplish a compelling government interest. A state, for example, may discriminate on the basis of age in treating youthful and adult offenders differently even if they have committed the same illegal act. The Constitution only prohibits discrimination that is invidious, arbitrary, or irrational. The validity of the government action depends largely on the criterion on which the discrimination is based.

The Supreme Court has determined certain classifications to be constitutionally suspect. Discrimination based on any characteristic that the Court has declared suspect is presumed to be irrational and constitutionally invalid. When such discrimination is constitutionally challenged, the courts proceed with strict scrutiny and the government carries a difficult burden of proof to justify the legitimacy of its actions. The Supreme Court, for example, has declared race and religion suspect. Therefore, government discrimination against racial minorities or religious groups is unlikely to be upheld. The Court has occasionally conferred suspect class status on other characteristics, such as poverty and illegitimacy, especially when the discrimination has impinged on the exercise of fundamental rights (see Indigency; Inheritance and Illegitimacy). Women's groups have long fought to have gender elevated to a suspect class, but the Supreme Court has yet to endorse that position.

Thomas G. Walker