Equality Before the Law

Equal Protection Clause

14th Amendment No State shall deny to any person within its

jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws Meant to benefit newly freed slaves Now means that States and local govt cannot draw

unreasonable distinctions between any classes of people

Equal Protection Clause

Reasonable Classification

Govt must have the power to classify, draw distinctions between persons and groups

Govt must be able to discriminate– and it does

Ex. Bank robbers fall in a certain class and receive special treatment from law enforcement

Govt may not discriminate unreasonably

State taxes the sale of cigarettes

Taxes smokers but not non smokers

No state can only tax blonde smokers, or only male smokers

Segregation in America

In the late 1800s, half the states passed segregation laws

Segregation separation of one group from another

Jim Crow laws

Laws that separate people on basis of race– were aimed at African Americans

Required segregation by race in both public and private facilities

Separate But Equal

Plessy v. Ferguson 1896

Law did not violate the EPC because separate facilities were provided for African Americans and whites

Lasted for 60 years

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court struck down laws allowing separate schools for white and African American students. Segregation by race in public schools is invalid.

State legislatures and school boards tried to block integration in the south Integration is the process of bringing a group into

the main stream of society

De Jure, De Facto Segregation

De jure segregation Segregation by law, with legal sanction

Ex. Jim Crow Laws De facto segregation

Segregation in fact, even if no laws requires it. What we have today

Ex. Communities where people live in cities

Classification by Sex

Only reference to sex in the Constitution 19th Amendment- denies the right to vote “on

account of sex” Classification by sex not unconstitutional

Intended to serve an important govt objective Substantially related to achieving that goal

Ex. All male draft