Which of the following causes for inequality passes the Supreme Court’s scrutiny under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment MOST easily?
A.race
B.age
C.ethnicity**
D.gender
Well, well, well, looks like we have a question about inequality and the Fourteenth Amendment. Now, if I were to rank them based on the Supreme Court's scrutiny, I would say age might be the lucky winner here. Why? Because unlike the others, age discrimination sometimes gets a "free pass" with a lower level of scrutiny. But don't worry, discrimination is never a laughing matter, so let's keep working towards a more equitable and fair society, shall we?
The Supreme Court's scrutiny under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment varies depending on the classification being examined. Currently, classifications based on race receive the highest level of scrutiny, known as strict scrutiny. This means that any law or government action based on race must serve a compelling government interest and must be narrowly tailored to achieve that interest.
On the other hand, classifications based on age, ethnicity, and gender generally receive lower levels of scrutiny. Age classifications are typically subject to intermediate scrutiny, which means the law or government action must serve an important government interest and must be substantially related to achieving that interest.
However, classifications based on ethnicity receive a lower level of scrutiny compared to classifications based on race. So, out of the options you provided, ethnicity would pass the Supreme Court's scrutiny under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment most easily.
To determine which of the causes for inequality passes the Supreme Court's scrutiny under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment most easily, we need to evaluate the levels of scrutiny applied by the Court to different classifications.
The Supreme Court applies different levels of scrutiny when evaluating laws that classify people on the basis of certain characteristics. The three levels of scrutiny are: strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, and rational basis review.
Strict scrutiny is the highest level of scrutiny and is applied when a law classifies people based on a suspect classification such as race, ethnicity, or national origin. To pass strict scrutiny, the government must show that the law serves a compelling government interest and is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest.
Intermediate scrutiny is applied when a law classifies people based on a quasi-suspect classification such as gender or illegitimacy. To pass intermediate scrutiny, the government must show that the law serves an important government interest and is substantially related to achieving that interest.
Rational basis review is the lowest level of scrutiny and is applied when a law classifies people based on other characteristics such as age or socioeconomic status. To pass rational basis review, the government only needs to show that the law has a legitimate government interest and is rationally related to achieving that interest.
Based on this analysis, race (option A) and ethnicity (option C) are both suspect classifications and would be subject to strict scrutiny. Gender (option D) is a quasi-suspect classification and would be subject to intermediate scrutiny.
Age (option B) falls into the category of characteristics that receive rational basis review. Therefore, age would have the highest likelihood of passing the Supreme Court's scrutiny under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment most easily.
In summary, option B (age) would pass the Supreme Court's scrutiny most easily compared to options A (race), C (ethnicity), and D (gender).