equal protection

noun

: a guarantee under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that a state must treat an individual or class of individuals the same as it treats other individuals or classes in like circumstances

Examples of equal protection in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Planned Parenthood’s legal theories of retaliation for speech and violations of the equal protection clause get more tenuous from there. —The Editors, National Review, 9 July 2025

Lower courts in those cases sided with the student athletes in finding the state laws violated either the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause or Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. —Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 4 July 2025

The constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law requires official action to be aimed at legitimate government purposes—not personal ones. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025

Their attorneys argued this violates their equal protection under the Colorado Constitution. —Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 16 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for equal protection

• interconnection
• microinjection
• superinfection
• abjection
• advection
• affection
• bijection
• bisection
• collection
• complexion
• confection
• connection

Legal Definition

equal protection

noun

: a guarantee under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that a state must treat an individual or class of individuals the same as it treats other individuals or classes in like circumstances

called also equal protection of the law

see also rational basis test, strict scrutiny, suspect classification

Note: The equal protection requirement of the Constitution protects against legislation that affects individuals differently without a rational basis for doing so. In reviewing claims of denial of equal protection, a court will uphold legislation that has a rational basis unless the legislation affects a fundamental right or involves a suspect classification, such as race. In such a case, the court will use a strict scrutiny standard of review and will strike down legislation that does not show a compelling need for discriminating.