Also known as: fundamental constitutional rights · fundamental right
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A right protected under the Due Process or Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment that triggers strict scrutiny when state action burdens its exercise.
Freya Freeman, a white resident, seeks to marry her Black partner in a state that prohibits interracial unions. State officials refuse to issue the license under the statute. The couple sues, and the court applies strict scrutiny because the classification burdens a fundamental constitutional right, striking the law down for lacking any legitimate non-invidious purpose.
Frederick Ferguson wants to send his children to a private religious academy rather than the local public school. State law requires all students to attend public institutions. The court recognizes the parents' fundamental constitutional right to direct their children's education and invalidates the compulsory public-school mandate.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Francisco Frost, convicted of a minor offense, faces a state statute mandating sterilization for certain offenders. He challenges the law as applied to him. The court holds that the right to procreate is fundamental and that the scheme violates equal protection and substantive due process.
Fumiko Fujimoto, an Amish parent, refuses to send her fourteen-year-old to high school as required by state compulsory-attendance law. The state seeks enforcement. The court finds that the fundamental right of parents to direct upbringing, combined with free-exercise interests, entitles the family to an exemption because their practices satisfy state goals.
Forrest Falconer owes unpaid child support and seeks a marriage license. State law requires court permission for anyone in arrears. The court treats the right to marry as fundamental and invalidates the statute because the permission requirement is not narrowly tailored to the state's interests.
Faye Fuller faces murder charges and seeks to introduce evidence of voluntary intoxication to negate mens rea. State law categorically excludes the evidence. The court upholds the exclusion, finding no fundamental constitutional right to present that particular defense when the rule serves legitimate evidentiary purposes.
Strict scrutiny applies. The state must show that the law is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest.
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Yes. State laws that significantly interfere with the decision to marry are subject to strict scrutiny and must be supported by sufficiently important interests that are closely tailored.
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No. Parents possess a fundamental constitutional right to direct the upbringing and education of their children, including the choice of private schooling, provided reasonable state standards are met.
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Yes. Compulsory sterilization statutes violate both equal protection and substantive due process because they burden the fundamental right to procreate without adequate justification.
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…to the requests for a declaratory judgment, abstention was not warranted. On the merits, the District Court held that the "fundamental right of single women and married persons to choose whether to have children is protected by the Ninth Amendment, through the Fourteenth Amendment," and that the Texas criminal abortion statutes…