UNBIASED Politics Unbiased University: The Evolution of Equal Protection
Mar 12, 2026
A crash course on how the Equal Protection Clause grew from post–Civil War safeguards into a central constitutional tool. Covers how the Court shifted from upholding segregation to striking it down and how levels of judicial review developed. Walks through key classifications like race, sex, and sexual orientation and highlights landmark Supreme Court cases that reshaped rights and government power.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Intent Matters More Than Impact For Neutral Laws
- For facially neutral laws courts distinguish discriminatory impact from discriminatory intent; impact alone usually leads to rational basis review.
- Intent (shown by statements, legislative history, or overwhelming patterns) is required to trigger heightened scrutiny for neutral laws.
A Simple Flowchart Explains Equal Protection Analysis
- Equal protection analysis follows a flow: state action, whether the law openly classifies, and if neutral whether evidence shows discriminatory intent.
- Jordan Berman summarizes how classification type and intent determine which scrutiny tier applies.
Early Case Banned Racial Exclusion From Juries
- Strauder v West Virginia (1880) struck down laws excluding Black people from jury service as violating the 14th Amendment.
- Jordan Berman explains the case grounded the amendment's purpose to protect formerly enslaved people's civil rights.