Also known as: animus
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Evidence of bias or hostility toward a protected class that may reveal improper motivation behind a policy or decision. Such evidence is weighed against any facially legitimate justification offered for the challenged action.
The President issues an order barring entry of engineers from several Muslim-majority countries and cites cybersecurity risks. Domestic firms and affected applicants sue, pointing to earlier campaign statements questioning Muslim loyalty. The court applies rational basis review and upholds the order because the stated security purpose is legitimate and rationally related to the restrictions.
A city enacts ordinances that prohibit ritual animal sacrifice while permitting other forms of animal killing. A Santeria church challenges the measures as targeting its religious practices. The court finds that the ordinances were enacted with discriminatory animus toward the church and invalidates them under the Free Exercise Clause.
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A town enforces a sign ordinance that treats directional signs for ideological messages more favorably than signs for political or religious events. A church challenges the distinctions. The court applies strict scrutiny to the content-based distinctions and strikes down the ordinance.
A city terminates a trust that had required a park to be used only by white persons after the Supreme Court declares the racial restriction unenforceable. Black residents challenge the termination as reflecting discriminatory animus. The Court upholds the termination because the city acted to eliminate the unconstitutional restriction rather than to perpetuate racial exclusion.
A village requires a property owner to connect to the municipal water system while allowing similarly situated neighbors to maintain private wells. The owner sues claiming discriminatory animus. The Court recognizes a class-of-one equal protection claim where the differential treatment lacks a rational basis.
An employee alleges that her supervisor's racial slurs and hostile treatment during contract formation constitute discriminatory animus. She sues under section 1981. The Court holds that section 1981 reaches only conduct impairing the right to make and enforce contracts and does not extend to post-formation harassment.
No. In immigration and foreign affairs, courts apply at most rational basis review. An order survives if it states a legitimate national security purpose that is rationally related to the restrictions, even when statements suggest animus.
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Evidence that a juror relied on racial stereotypes or animus during deliberations is admissible to determine whether a criminal defendant's right to an impartial jury was violated. The animus must have been a significant motivating factor in the vote to convict.
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No. A state may exclude devotional theology degrees from a generally available scholarship program without violating the Free Exercise Clause. The modest burden reflects a permissible decision not to fund clerical training and does not exhibit animus.
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…Clause protects intimate personal choices. Lawrence v. Texas , 539 U. S. 558. The Court has also invalidated laws based on the animus toward a class of people. See Romer v. Evans , 517 U. S. 620. Against this background, the legal question of same-sex marriage must be addressed. Pp. 10–15. (2) The nature of marriage is…