Also known as: legitimate governmental interest · bona fide governmental interest · legitimate state interest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A governmental objective that supplies a valid public purpose under rational basis review. The objective must be grounded in something other than prejudice or moral disapproval of a disfavored group. Courts examine whether the asserted interest actually justifies the classification or restriction at issue.
The city council denies Levi Lowe's application to open a supervised residence for adults with intellectual disabilities. Neighbors express discomfort with the residents' mental condition but offer no evidence of safety risks or traffic problems. The denial rests solely on that discomfort and therefore lacks any legitimate governmental interest.
State voters approve a constitutional amendment that prevents any local government from enacting ordinances protecting people based on sexual orientation. The amendment identifies the class solely by that trait and then strips away the ability to seek ordinary legal safeguards. The measure reflects animosity rather than any legitimate governmental interest.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Lucas Lee seeks a permit to rebuild his beachfront home after a storm. The coastal commission grants the permit only if Lee conveys a public access easement across the lot. The easement condition bears no essential nexus to any legitimate governmental interest that would have justified denying the permit outright.
Lorenzo Lugo and Luke Latham, adult inmates in a consensual relationship, face charges under a statute that criminalizes only same-sex intimacy in prison. Officials concede there is no security, coercion, or commercial concern. The statute rests on moral disapproval and therefore supplies no legitimate governmental interest.
Lamar Lewis owns beachfront lots rendered unusable by a coastal-protection statute. The regulation leaves him no economically viable use of the land. Because the statute advances no legitimate governmental interest that would have supported total prohibition under background nuisance principles, it effects a taking.
Lucy Liu, terminally ill, seeks a physician's assistance to end her life. State law prohibits the assistance. The prohibition rests on the state's interest in preserving life and preventing abuse. That interest qualifies as legitimate and survives rational basis review.
Moral disapproval of a disfavored group or bare prejudice supplies no legitimate governmental interest. The government must articulate an objective that actually furthers a valid public purpose rather than simply condemning the class or conduct at issue.
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No. When the sole reason for denying a permit is the residents' mental condition, the decision rests on prejudice and lacks any legitimate governmental interest, violating equal protection even under rational basis review.
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No. A statute that criminalizes private, consensual adult intimacy solely because of moral disapproval of the relationship fails rational basis review because moral condemnation is not a legitimate governmental interest.
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…against the life she carries within her, should the interest of the embryo or fetus not prevail. Logically, of course, a legitimate state interest in this area need not stand or fall on acceptance of the belief that life begins at conception or at some other point prior to live birth. In assessing the State's interest, recognition may…