The courts
levels of scrutiny
The tiers courts use to test government action against the Constitution: rational basis, intermediate scrutiny, and strict scrutiny. The tier usually decides the case.
In full
Rational basis, applied to most economic regulation, upholds a law if any legitimate purpose could support it. Intermediate scrutiny, used for sex classifications, requires an important interest and a substantially related means. Strict scrutiny, applied to race classifications and fundamental rights, requires a compelling interest and narrow tailoring, and is rarely survived.
Also written as: strict scrutiny, rational basis, intermediate scrutiny
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.