Compelling state interest
- Compelling state interest
The compelling state interest test is a test used by the US Federal Courts in due process and equal protection claims (all claims with Constitutional bases, actually) under the Fourteenth Amendment for state action and under the Fifth Amendment for federal action. It is part of the strict scrutiny analysis that a federal court will employ when either a suspect class is involved or a fundamental right. A government action or statute subject to strict scrutiny must satisfy a compelling state interest that is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest. The court will give the strictest scrutiny of the state or federal action when it impacts or targets a specially protected class (race, ethnicity) or when a fundamental and Constitutionally protected right is involved (Freedom of Speech, Right to Vote). The compelling state interest test is distinguishable from the rational basis test, which involves Fourteenth and Fifth Amendment claims that do not involve a suspect class and involve a liberty interest rather than a fundamental right.
Notable cases
*Sherbert, 1963
*Yoder, 1972
*Smith, 1990
*City of Boerne, 1997
*O Centro v Gonzalez, 2006
See also
*Rational Basis Test
*Intermediate scrutiny
*Strict scrutiny
*Fundamental right
*Suspect class
*Constitutional Law
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Look at other dictionaries:
compelling state interest — see interest 3a Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 … Law dictionary
compelling state interest test — >> compelling interest test. Webster s New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000 … Law dictionary
compelling state interest — One which the state is forced or obliged to protect. Coleman v. Coleman, 32 Ohio St.2d 155, 291 N.E.2d 530, 534. Term used to uphold state action in the face of attack grounded on Equal Protection or First Amendment rights because of serious need … Black's law dictionary
compelling state interest — One which the state is forced or obliged to protect. Coleman v. Coleman, 32 Ohio St.2d 155, 291 N.E.2d 530, 534. Term used to uphold state action in the face of attack grounded on Equal Protection or First Amendment rights because of serious need … Black's law dictionary
compelling interest test — n. In constitutional law, a method for determining the constitutionality of a statute that restricts the practice of a fundamental right or distinguishes between people due to a suspect classification. In order for the statute to be valid, there… … Law dictionary
interest — in·ter·est / in trəst; in tə rəst, ˌrest/ n [probably alteration of earlier interesse, from Anglo French, from Medieval Latin, from Latin, to be between, make a difference, concern, from inter between, among + esse to be] 1: a right, title, claim … Law dictionary
state — n often attrib 1 a: a politically organized body of people usu. occupying a definite territory; esp: one that is sovereign b: the political organization that has supreme civil authority and political power and serves as the basis of government… … Law dictionary
interest — The most general term that can be employed to denote a right, claim, title, or legal share in something. In its application to real estate or things real, it is frequently used in connection with the terms estate, right, and title. More… … Black's law dictionary
interest — The most general term that can be employed to denote a right, claim, title, or legal share in something. In its application to real estate or things real, it is frequently used in connection with the terms estate, right, and title. More… … Black's law dictionary
A.H. vs State of Florida — In the case of A.H. vs. the State of Florida, two teenagers were prosecuted and convicted under child pornography laws in a situation that brings up questions about privacy and how laws should be adapted to new technologies and extreme… … Wikipedia
