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The Supreme Court Of The United States

Decent Essays

The Supreme Court of the United States did not apply sound reasoning in formulating their final opinion in Reed v. Reed. Even though, the Supreme Court’s decision was unanimous in ruling the Idaho statute unconstitutional because of violation to the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The reason why I believe that they did not apply sound reasoning in Reed v. Reed is because the level of scrutiny applied. The Supreme Court applied the rational basis test instead of strict scrutiny. Commonly, when the Supreme Court applies the rational basis test to a law, the law passes because it can be proven that it is “rationally related to a legitimate government interest” . There was no precedent for this case because it was the first time that the Supreme Court heard a case on discrimination against women in violation of the Equal Protection Clause( 404 U.S. 71, 72 ).” The Supreme Court should have applied strict scrutiny because women are an insular minority that have been discriminated against in the past and have faced denial of basic rights. If the Supreme Court would have applied strict scrutiny it would have shown legislation and the lower courts that discrimination is inappropriate against one particular sex. I would have applied strict scrutiny and proved that gender based classifications deserve strict scrutiny because they meet the three requirements needed. Moreover, that the rational basis should only be applied to cases of economy. The Virginia Military

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