Intermediate scrutiny

Part of the series on

U.S. Discrimination Law

Standards of Review

Rational basis review Intermediate scrutiny Strict scrutiny

Other Legal Theories

Substantive due process State action doctrine

Defining Moments in Law

The 14th Amendment Plessy v. Ferguson Brown v. Board of Education Loving v. Virginia U.S. v. Virginia Romer v. Evans Lawrence v. Texas

Modalities of Constitutional Law

Textual Responsive

The intermediate scrutiny test in constitutional law is applied to statutes that affect quasi-suspect classifications such as making distinctions based on gender. This test requires invalidating a statute that discriminates based on gender unless the government can prove that the statute is substantially related to an important government purpose.

If the Equal Rights Amendment had passed, then the strict scrutiny test would be applied to all gender-related laws and rules, and that test is almost impossible to pass.