Also known as: least-restrictive · least restrictive means · least restrictive alternative · LRA
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional standard requiring that a law burdening a fundamental right or classifying on the basis of a suspect trait advance a compelling governmental interest through the least intrusive effective means available.
A federal statute requires commercial websites to verify users are adults before displaying sexually explicit material and imposes criminal penalties for noncompliance. Parents can install filters on home computers to block such content. A court invalidates the statute because the government did not prove that filters would fail to protect minors as effectively.
A state denies unemployment benefits to a worker who quits after her employer schedules her for Saturday shifts that conflict with her religious observance. The worker shows the denial burdens her sincere religious practice. A court holds the state must grant an exemption because no compelling interest justifies refusing the accommodation.
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A city ordinance prohibits ritual animal sacrifice while permitting other forms of animal slaughter for food. A religious group whose practices require the banned rituals challenges the law. A court strikes down the ordinance because the city failed to show that a total prohibition is necessary to advance its stated public-health goals.
A city denies a special-use permit for a proposed group home for people with intellectual disabilities while granting permits for comparable facilities such as nursing homes. The applicant demonstrates the denial rests on irrational fears rather than legitimate concerns. A court orders issuance of the permit because the city cannot justify the differential treatment under equal-protection standards.
A city refuses a building permit to enlarge a church because the proposed expansion would violate a recently enacted historic-preservation ordinance. The church shows the ordinance was enacted after the city learned of the expansion plans. A court finds the application of the ordinance violates applicable standards because less burdensome alternatives exist to preserve historic character.
Federal law requires disclosure of contributors to minor political parties even when those parties demonstrate a reasonable probability of harassment. The parties argue that disclosure chills participation. A court upholds the requirement because disclosure serves the governmental interest without imposing unnecessary burdens.
The least restrictive means test applies only when a law is subject to strict scrutiny because it burdens a fundamental right or classifies on the basis of a suspect trait. Content-neutral regulations receive intermediate scrutiny and need only avoid burdening substantially more speech than necessary.
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No. The government must show that available alternatives would be ineffective at achieving the compelling interest. The existence of a less burdensome option is not enough if that option would leave the interest unprotected.
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Under RLUIPA a prison regulation that substantially burdens religious exercise must be the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling governmental interest. This statutory standard is stricter than the constitutional baseline applied to free-exercise claims after Smith.
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No. Commercial-speech regulations need only a reasonable fit between the substantial interest and the means chosen. The government is not required to adopt the least restrictive means.
…objector “is essential to accomplish an overriding governmental interest,” Lee, supra , at 257-258, or represents “the least restrictive means of achieving some compelling state interest,” Thomas, supra , at 718. See, e. g., Braunfeld, supra , at 607; Sherbert, supra , at 406; Yoder, supra , at 214-215; Roy , 476 U. S., at…