Applying the Standards of Review

An equal-treatment challenge is analyzed by matching the classification to its standard of review and asking whether the government can carry its burden.

Three claims. First: a state licenses drivers at sixteen, not fourteen. Age is not a protected classification, so rational basis applies — the state needs a legitimate interest, road safety, rationally served by an age line; the law stands. Second: a state gives one benefit to men and another to women. Sex triggers intermediate scrutiny — the state must show the distinction substantially serves an important objective, and the burden is the state's, not the challenger's. Third: a public program treats participants differently by race. Race triggers strict scrutiny — compelling interest, narrow tailoring, least restrictive means, and in the modern era such laws rarely survive. Same clause, three tests: the classification picks the test, and the test usually picks the winner.