equal protection of the laws

A phrase in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution requiring that states guarantee the same rights, privileges, and protections to all citizens. This doctrine reinforces that of due process of law and prevents states from passing or enforcing laws that arbitrarily discriminate against anyone.

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Example Sentences

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They argued these laws violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws because they discriminate based on sex.

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But the justices in their unsigned opinion said it violated the principle of “equal protection of the laws” for Florida counties to use different standards for counting or not counting punch card ballots.

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The new case asks whether the same understanding applies to the Constitution’s even broader guarantee of “equal protection of the laws.”

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The party's platform urges lawmakers "to enact legislation to abolish abortion by immediately securing the right to life and equal protection of the laws to all preborn children from the moment of fertilization."

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Plank 35 of the platform calls for Texas Republicans to pass legislation that would grant "equal protection of the laws to all preborn children from the moment of fertilization."

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equal pay Equal Rights Amendment

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