Also known as: middle level review · middle-level scrutiny · intermediate scrutiny · intermediate review
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of judicial review positioned between rational-basis review and strict scrutiny. The government must demonstrate that a classification serves an important objective and that the means chosen are substantially related to that objective.
Miles Montgomery and Maria Morales jointly owned their home. A state statute designated the husband as head of household and permitted him alone to sell the property. Maria challenged the statute after Miles sold the home without her consent. The court applied middle-level review and invalidated the law because the gender classification lacked an important objective substantially advanced by the means chosen.
Meridian Motors operated a cable system that carried local broadcast stations. A federal regulation required carriage of those stations on designated channels. Meridian challenged the rule as burdening its speech. The court applied middle-level review and upheld the regulation after finding it advanced important interests unrelated to speech suppression without burdening substantially more speech than necessary.
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Melissa Mills sought admission to a state military academy that excluded women. The academy defended the single-sex policy as preserving its distinctive educational method. The court applied middle-level review and struck down the policy because the state failed to supply an exceedingly persuasive justification substantially related to an important objective.
Monica Morgan gave birth to a child outside marriage. State law imposed a six-year limit on paternity actions brought on behalf of nonmarital children while allowing marital children to seek support indefinitely. Morgan challenged the limit. The court applied middle-level review and invalidated the statute because it was not substantially related to the state's interest in preventing stale claims.
Mason McCarthy held copyrights in early twentieth-century musical works. A federal statute extended the term of existing copyrights by twenty years. McCarthy challenged the extension as exceeding congressional power. The court considered an equal-protection claim embedded in the challenge and upheld the statute.
Meredith Maxwell sought a permit to carry a handgun in public for self-defense. A local ordinance limited such permits to persons demonstrating a special need. Maxwell challenged the ordinance. The court rejected middle-level review for the Second Amendment claim and held that regulations must instead be consistent with historical tradition.
Gender classifications and classifications based on illegitimacy receive middle-level review. The government must show that the classification serves an important objective and that the means are substantially related to that objective.
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Middle-level review requires an important governmental objective and a substantial relationship between means and end. Strict scrutiny demands a compelling interest and narrow tailoring. Middle-level review is less demanding and more likely to sustain a classification.
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The government bears the burden of showing an important objective that is genuine rather than hypothesized and that the classification is substantially related to achieving that objective without relying on overbroad stereotypes.
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Yes. Content-neutral regulations of speech are subject to middle-level review. The government must demonstrate that the regulation advances important interests unrelated to the suppression of speech and does not burden substantially more speech than necessary.
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A gender classification can survive if the government supplies an exceedingly persuasive justification showing that the classification is substantially related to an important objective and does not rest on archaic stereotypes.
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…holding attempted by RFRA. Even assuming RFRA would be interpreted in effect to mandate some lesser test, say, one equivalent to intermediate scrutiny, the statute nevertheless would require searching judicial scrutiny of state law with the attendant likelihood of invalidation. This is a considerable congressional intrusion into the…