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

They argued these laws violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws because they discriminate based on sex.

From Los Angeles Times

But the justices in their unsigned opinion said it violated the principle of “equal protection of the laws” for Florida counties to use different standards for counting or not counting punch card ballots.

From Los Angeles Times

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