Problem
Suppose a government enacts all three of the following laws:
1. A law requiring that white students attend different schools than African-American students.
2. A law that guarantees women paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child, but not men.
3. A law requiring that everyone whose visual acuity falls below a certain threshold must wear corrective lenses (such as glasses or contacts) to drive.
Each of these laws is challenged on 14th Amendment equal protection grounds. For all 3 of these laws, answer the following 2 questions:
• What test will courts use to determine whether each law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, and why? (Hint: each law will get a different test)
• Under the test applied for each law, at least how strong must the government interest be for the courts to uphold each law (e.g., does the government interest need to be legitimate, important, or compelling)?