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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.

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equal protection of the laws

The Equal Protection Clause provides that no state shall deny to any person the equal protection of the laws.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

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

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

It talks about guaranteeing liberty, and due process of law, it guarantees equal protection of the laws.

From Slate ● Apr. 12, 2022

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