equal protection of the laws

Cultural  

1. A phrase in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution requiring that states guarantee the same rights, privileges, and protections to all citizens. This doctrine reinforces that of due process of law and prevents states from passing or enforcing laws that arbitrarily discriminate against anyone.

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Example Sentences

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equal protection of the laws

Racially colorblind highway construction shouldn’t be too much to ask in a country that guarantees equal protection of the laws.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025

Supreme Court to review their claim that two state court justices, by their participation in the opinion, violated the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection of the laws.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2024

The efforts included formally abolishing slavery nationwide, guaranteeing equal protection of the laws to everyone regardless of race, and allowing formerly enslaved people to vote.

From Salon ● May 17, 2023

He said it did not violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws nor Title IX, the education law that forbids discrimination based on sex.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2023

Hopkins, the Supreme Court had recognized that racially selective enforcement violates equal protection of the laws.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander