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

The orders fulfill the constitutional requirement of equal protection of the laws, forbidding government from treating people differently based on race.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

The new case asks whether the same understanding applies to the Constitution’s even broader guarantee of “equal protection of the laws.”

From Los Angeles Times

The equal protection clause, enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment, guarantees that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

From Seattle Times

The post-Civil War 14th Amendment guaranteed all U.S. citizens “equal protection of the laws” and said states couldn’t impede on their “privileges or immunities” without due process.

From Seattle Times