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equal protection of the laws

Cultural

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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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 • Oct. 23, 2025

It guaranteed all persons, regardless of citizenship, equal protection of the laws.

From Slate • May 8, 2024

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

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

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023