Also known as: strict scrutiny · strict scrutiny review · compelling interest test
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of judicial review that requires the government to demonstrate that a challenged law is necessary to achieve a compelling governmental interest and is narrowly tailored to that interest.
Skylar Sullivan, a practitioner of Santeria, faces prosecution under a city ordinance that bans a specific animal slaughter method used only in her faith's rituals. The ordinance was enacted after public outcry targeted the religious practice. Because the law is not neutral or generally applicable, the court applies the strict scrutiny test and invalidates the ordinance when the city cannot prove it is necessary to any compelling interest.
Seth Shapiro, a nonminority contractor, challenges a city program that reserves a percentage of public contracts exclusively for minority-owned firms. The program rests only on general assertions of past societal discrimination without evidence of specific local discrimination in the construction industry. The court applies the strict scrutiny test and strikes down the set-aside because the city lacks a strong basis in evidence of identified past discrimination.
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Scott Summers operates a religious foster agency that declines to certify same-sex couples on faith-based grounds. A city policy bars agencies from rejecting same-sex applicants yet permits case-by-case exemptions for secular reasons. The court applies the strict scrutiny test because the policy is not generally applicable and invalidates enforcement against the agency when the city cannot satisfy the test.
Sebastian Santos seeks to register a trademark containing a term the Patent Office deems disparaging. The statute bars registration of marks that express disfavored viewpoints. The court applies the strict scrutiny test because the bar is a viewpoint-based restriction on private speech and invalidates the denial when the government cannot show the restriction is necessary to a compelling interest.
Sydney Santos and her spouse seek a prescription for contraception at a state university health center that limits services to married students. The restriction directly burdens the fundamental right to make intimate marital decisions. The court applies the strict scrutiny test and invalidates the limitation when the state cannot demonstrate that the marital-status rule is necessary to a compelling interest.
Stephen Shaw, a developer, challenges a village zoning denial that blocks construction of integrated housing. Evidence shows the decision was motivated in part by racial considerations rather than neutral land-use factors. The court applies the strict scrutiny test because the classification rests on race and invalidates the denial when the village cannot prove the action is necessary to a compelling interest.
A law triggers the strict scrutiny test when it employs a suspect classification such as race or burdens a fundamental right. The government then bears the burden of proving the classification is necessary to a compelling interest and narrowly tailored. General assertions of societal discrimination do not suffice.
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The law must be neutral and generally applicable. If it permits individualized exemptions or targets religious conduct, strict scrutiny applies. The government must then show the law is necessary to a compelling interest and narrowly tailored.
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Yes. Content-based or viewpoint-based restrictions on protected speech are subject to strict scrutiny. The government must prove the restriction is necessary to a compelling interest and narrowly tailored. Otherwise the restriction is invalid.
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…law restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples constituted a classification on the basis of sex and was therefore subject to strict scrutiny under the Hawaii Constitution. Baehr v. Lewin , 74 Haw. 530, 852 P. 2d 44. Although this decision did not mandate that same-sex marriage be allowed, some States were concerned by its…