Also known as: rational basis review · rational-basis review · rational basis test · rational basis scrutiny
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of judicial review under which a law or classification is upheld if it is rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest. Courts applying this standard defer heavily to legislative judgments and will sustain a measure even if it is underinclusive or overinclusive. The test requires only that the classification bear some reasonable connection to a permissible public purpose.
The state enacts a statute requiring all police officers to retire at age fifty. Officer Rosa Ruiz, who remains physically fit at fifty-one, sues claiming the rule violates equal protection. The court applies rational review and upholds the statute because the age limit is rationally related to the legitimate goal of maintaining a physically capable force.
The President issues an order barring entry of pilots from several majority-Muslim countries after intelligence reports flag heightened hijacking risks. Pilot trainee Rowan Russell, a national of one listed country, challenges the order on Establishment Clause grounds. The court applies rational review and sustains the order because it states a national-security purpose rationally connected to the restrictions.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Congress bans possession of firearms within one thousand feet of schools. A high-school senior, Rita Russell, is prosecuted after bringing a handgun to campus for protection. The court applies rational review to the Commerce Clause challenge and upholds the statute because Congress could rationally conclude that gun violence near schools affects interstate commerce.
A city condemns waterfront homes owned by Ravi Reddy to assemble land for a private redevelopment project expected to increase tax revenue. Reddy sues claiming the taking is not for public use. The court applies rational review and upholds the condemnation because the city's plan is rationally related to the legitimate purpose of economic revitalization.
Congress extends the copyright term by twenty years for existing works. Author Ralph Richardson, whose novel would otherwise enter the public domain, challenges the extension as exceeding Congress's power. The court applies rational review and sustains the statute because Congress could rationally believe that longer terms promote creativity and preserve existing works.
A state funds public schools primarily through local property taxes, resulting in large spending gaps between wealthy and poor districts. Parent Roger Ramirez sues on behalf of students in a low-wealth district, claiming the system violates equal protection. The court applies rational review and upholds the funding scheme because local control of education is a legitimate interest and the system is rationally related to that goal.
Rational review applies to classifications that are neither suspect nor quasi-suspect and that do not burden fundamental rights. Age, alienage under federal law, and most economic or social legislation receive this deferential standard.
Supporting sources
No. Under rational review a law may be underinclusive or overinclusive so long as it is rationally related to a legitimate purpose. Courts do not require perfect fit between means and ends.
Supporting sources
Courts accord substantial deference to the political branches and apply at most rational review. An entry restriction is upheld if it states a legitimate national-security purpose rationally related to the policy, even when extrinsic statements suggest improper motive.
Supporting sources
…the ground that "[t]he crafting and safeguarding of public morality . . . indisputably is a legitimate government interest under rational basis scrutiny"); Milner v. Apfel , 148 F. 3d 812, 814 (CA7 1998) (citing Bowers for the proposition that "[l]egislatures are permitted to legislate with regard to morality . . . rather than confined…