Equal Protection

A constitutional guarantee (14th Amendment) that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction ‘the equal protection of the laws.’ It requires states to treat individuals in similar situations equally, forming the basis for challenging discriminatory laws.

Example: In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause because separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.

Common misconception: The Equal Protection Clause applies directly to the federal government. The 14th Amendment specifically restricts states. The federal government is held to a similar standard through the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment, as established in Bolling v. Sharpe (1954).