What does equal protection under the law mean?
The 14th Amendment provides that “no State shall make or enforce any law which shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Equal protection under the law means that legislation must treat all people or classes of people the same under like circumstances and conditions.
Which said there must be equal protection under the law?
The Equal Protection Clause is from the text of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides “nor shall any State … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”.
What is an example of equal protection?
Basics of the Equal Protection Clause
For instance, states may require people to pass a vision as a condition of receiving a driver’s license. However, states cannot deny a person a driver’s license because of their race, gender, or other minority considerations.
What does the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment say?
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
What 3 things did the 14th amendment do?
The 14th Amendment contained three major provisions: The Citizenship Clause granted citizenship to All persons born or naturalized in the United States. The Due Process Clause declared that states may not deny any person “life, liberty or property, without due process of law.”
What rights does the 14th Amendment Protect?
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including former slaves—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.” One of three amendments passed during the Reconstruction era to abolish slavery and establish …
What is the difference between due process and equal protection?
Substantive due process protects criminal defendants from unreasonable government intrusion on their substantive constitutional rights. … The equal protection clause prevents the state government from enacting criminal laws that arbitrarily discriminate.
Is everyone equal under the law?
Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states: “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law”.
What are the 3 levels of scrutiny?
Our infographic outlines the three most common points on the spectrum (Rational-Basis, Intermediate Scrutiny, and Strict Scrutiny). The Supreme Court has found the following situations to correspond to these levels of scrutiny.
How does the 14th Amendment affect us today?
The 14th Amendment established citizenship rights for the first time and equal protection to former slaves, laying the foundation for how we understand these ideals today. It is the most relevant amendment to Americans’ lives today.
How has the 14th amendment been used?
A unanimous United States Supreme Court said that state courts are required under the 14th Amendment to provide counsel in criminal cases to represent defendants who are unable to afford to pay their attorneys, guaranteeing the Sixth Amendment’s similar federal guarantees.
What are the three levels of scrutiny for equal protection cases?
Let us start by examining the three levels of review applied in Equal Protection and Due Process cases: (1) Rational Basis Review; (2) Intermediate Scrutiny; (3) Strict Scrutiny.
What does the 14th Amendment mean to students?
It says that anyone born in the United States is a citizen and that all states must give citizens the same rights guaranteed by the federal government in the Bill of Rights. The 14th Amendment also says that all citizens have the right to due process and equal protection under the law in all states.
What is the equal protection clause in simple terms?
: the clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibits any state from denying to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.