Also known as: not broader than necessary · narrowly tailored · least restrictive means
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional standard requiring that a government regulation or classification restrict protected rights or interests only to the extent essential to achieve its legitimate objectives. The standard demands that the chosen means not impose burdens substantially greater than those needed to advance the asserted interest.
Nova Pharmaceuticals seeks a city contract to build a new research facility. The city awards the work through a program that reserves 30 percent of all public construction dollars for minority-owned firms without evidence of past discrimination against those firms in the local construction industry. Nova sues, arguing the program fails constitutional review because its scope exceeds what the city can justify.
Nolan Nunez owes unpaid child support from a prior relationship. State law requires any person with such arrears to obtain both a judge's and a district superintendent's approval before marrying. Nolan plans to wed Nina Nielsen and challenges the statute after learning the dual-permission process will delay the wedding by months.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Intermediate or strict scrutiny applies depending on the right involved. Content-neutral speech rules and certain equal-protection claims receive intermediate scrutiny that demands the burden not exceed what is necessary to serve important interests. Fundamental rights such as marriage trigger strict scrutiny requiring narrow tailoring to compelling interests.
The standard permits a regulation that is not the absolute least restrictive option provided it does not burden substantially more protected activity than needed. A least-restrictive-means test would invalidate any measure for which a narrower alternative exists.
Yes. Lawyer advertising rules must further a substantial government interest and must be drawn no more broadly than necessary to protect the public from misleading or coercive communications.
The program fails because general societal discrimination cannot justify race-based measures. The set-aside must be limited to remedying specific past discrimination against minorities in the relevant industry and jurisdiction.