Editing Constitutional Law Maggs/4th ed. Outline II

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The mentally disabled are not a quasi-suspect class and thus any legislative regulations affecting their rights are subject to rational basis review and not intermediate scrutiny. Disabilities are under rational basis because persons require special care for functioning and should be looked at rationally, lawmakers have shown great appreciation for mentally disabled and enact significant legislation prohibiting discrimination against them, mentally disabled individuals are not politically powerless, and mentally disabled persons are difficult to define. In this case, they did not have a legitimate interest (rational basis with bite).This case is the first case where they took into account that lawmakers were doing something fishy with this regulation.
The mentally disabled are not a quasi-suspect class and thus any legislative regulations affecting their rights are subject to rational basis review and not intermediate scrutiny. Disabilities are under rational basis because persons require special care for functioning and should be looked at rationally, lawmakers have shown great appreciation for mentally disabled and enact significant legislation prohibiting discrimination against them, mentally disabled individuals are not politically powerless, and mentally disabled persons are difficult to define. In this case, they did not have a legitimate interest (rational basis with bite).This case is the first case where they took into account that lawmakers were doing something fishy with this regulation.
===Sexual Orientation===
===Sexual Orientation===
====[[Romer v. Evans]]====
====Romer v. Evans====


A law prohibiting anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community violates the equal protection clause. Colorado votes passed a law that prevented cities from passing antidiscrimination laws on the basis of sexual orientation. Rational basis was applied and it is shown that a whole class of people is unable to seek to protection of the laws. Such a targeted and injurious denial of basic rights bear no rational relation to a legitimate state interest even under the lenient standard of judicial review. Morality isn’t a rational basis. The bare desire to harm an unpopular class can bever be a rational basis.'''''Question 1 - What do those weird rights in Meyer v. Nebraska include (specifically the right to contract and the right to engage in the common occupations of life)?'''''The right to engage in the common occupations of life is a fundamental right but a pretty limited one. It applies to non-specialized occupations. More technical occupations that require specialized knowledge or skills aren't covered. For instances, if your occupation is “handyman” you probably can’t be prevented from being a handyman. However, if your occupation is “plumber” then you might be subject to licensing requirements to be a “plumber” and such regulations would not infringe on your right to common occupation and would be subject only to rational basis.The freedom to contract is another one of those. It’s substance is the right to contract at all, not the right to contract for particular terms. If it’s just a regulation on terms, such as “minimum wage” or “maximum hours”, it doesn’t fall under that right and is just rational basis.We also talked about the right to marriage, and how it covers anything that basically forbids marriage, but lesser things like steps you have to take before getting married don't infringe on the core of that right and are subject only to rational basis.'''''Question 2 - Wait, how do Due Process and Equal Protection fit together? When do you do one, the other, or both? '''''So, Due Process and Equal Protection are usually separate issues and separate analyses. You use Due Process when you are arguing that a government action is infringing on one of your rights. The question there is whether they can infringe on that right.You use Equal Protection when you are arguing that the law discriminates against your certain class, whatever it it. That is, the law isn't equal.The time they do go together is when you are arguing that the law infringes on your right, but the right you are arguing for hasn't traditionally encompassed your group. Think same-sex marriage before Obergefell. In that case, you often have to go through an equal protection analysis to determine whether your group should be held to fall within those people who have the right. If so, then you go back to the due process argument and apply whatever the right gets (strict scrutiny if fundamental). If not, then you go back to the due process argument and apply rational basis. Note that this sort of analysis requires 2 different analyses: Denial of Interracial Marriage prior to Loving - Denial of Right to Marry, Does it extend to Interracial Couples (Equal Protection Analysis based onRace, Strict Scrutiny because Race, Government Fails so included), Right Included, Right isFundamental, so Strict Scrutiny. Denial of Contraception to Unmarried Couples pre-Eisenstadt - Denial of Right to Privacy, Does it extend to unmarried couples? (Equal Protection Analysis based on Marital Status, Probably Rational Basis, Government still failed so included), Right Included, Right is Fundamental, so Strict Scrutiny. <nowiki>'''''</nowiki>'''''When analyzing issues: Always use enumerated rights before due process or equal protection.'''''
A law prohibiting anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community violates the equal protection clause. Colorado votes passed a law that prevented cities from passing antidiscrimination laws on the basis of sexual orientation. Rational basis was applied and it is shown that a whole class of people is unable to seek to protection of the laws. Such a targeted and injurious denial of basic rights bear no rational relation to a legitimate state interest even under the lenient standard of judicial review. Morality isn’t a rational basis. The bare desire to harm an unpopular class can bever be a rational basis.'''''Question 1 - What do those weird rights in Meyer v. Nebraska include (specifically the right to contract and the right to engage in the common occupations of life)?'''''The right to engage in the common occupations of life is a fundamental right but a pretty limited one. It applies to non-specialized occupations. More technical occupations that require specialized knowledge or skills aren't covered. For instances, if your occupation is “handyman” you probably can’t be prevented from being a handyman. However, if your occupation is “plumber” then you might be subject to licensing requirements to be a “plumber” and such regulations would not infringe on your right to common occupation and would be subject only to rational basis.The freedom to contract is another one of those. It’s substance is the right to contract at all, not the right to contract for particular terms. If it’s just a regulation on terms, such as “minimum wage” or “maximum hours”, it doesn’t fall under that right and is just rational basis.We also talked about the right to marriage, and how it covers anything that basically forbids marriage, but lesser things like steps you have to take before getting married don't infringe on the core of that right and are subject only to rational basis.'''''Question 2 - Wait, how do Due Process and Equal Protection fit together? When do you do one, the other, or both? '''''So, Due Process and Equal Protection are usually separate issues and separate analyses. You use Due Process when you are arguing that a government action is infringing on one of your rights. The question there is whether they can infringe on that right.You use Equal Protection when you are arguing that the law discriminates against your certain class, whatever it it. That is, the law isn't equal.The time they do go together is when you are arguing that the law infringes on your right, but the right you are arguing for hasn't traditionally encompassed your group. Think same-sex marriage before Obergefell. In that case, you often have to go through an equal protection analysis to determine whether your group should be held to fall within those people who have the right. If so, then you go back to the due process argument and apply whatever the right gets (strict scrutiny if fundamental). If not, then you go back to the due process argument and apply rational basis. Note that this sort of analysis requires 2 different analyses: Denial of Interracial Marriage prior to Loving - Denial of Right to Marry, Does it extend to Interracial Couples (Equal Protection Analysis based onRace, Strict Scrutiny because Race, Government Fails so included), Right Included, Right isFundamental, so Strict Scrutiny. Denial of Contraception to Unmarried Couples pre-Eisenstadt - Denial of Right to Privacy, Does it extend to unmarried couples? (Equal Protection Analysis based on Marital Status, Probably Rational Basis, Government still failed so included), Right Included, Right is Fundamental, so Strict Scrutiny. <nowiki>'''''</nowiki>'''''When analyzing issues: Always use enumerated rights before due process or equal protection.'''''
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