Intermediate scrutiny is the standard of review courts use for laws that classify people by sex or gender, requiring the government to show the law serves an important governmental objective and is substantially related to achieving it. It sits between rational basis review and strict scrutiny.
Intermediate scrutiny is the middle rung on the Supreme Court's three-level ladder for judging discrimination claims under the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause. When a law treats people differently based on sex or gender, the government has to prove two things. First, the law serves an important governmental objective. Second, the law is substantially related to achieving that objective. That's a tougher bar than rational basis review (where almost any reasonable explanation works) but easier than strict scrutiny (where the government needs a compelling interest and a narrowly tailored law).
The whole point of the ladder is that not all classifications are equally suspicious. Race-based classifications get strict scrutiny because race is a suspect classification. Sex-based classifications get intermediate scrutiny. Everything else (age, wealth, most economic regulations) usually gets rational basis. So when you see a law that says "men can do X but women can't," intermediate scrutiny is the test the Court applies to decide whether that line is constitutional.
Intermediate scrutiny lives in Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, and it matters most for Topic 3.13 (Affirmative Action) and the equal protection material around it. Learning objective AP Gov 3.13.A asks you to describe Supreme Court debates about affirmative action, and those debates are really debates about which level of scrutiny applies. The Court's answer in cases like Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) and Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) was strict scrutiny for race-based policies, which is exactly why you need intermediate scrutiny in your vocabulary. You can't explain why race gets the strictest test without knowing what the next level down looks like. It also connects to the broader Unit 3 skill in AP Gov 3.6.A, where the Court balances individual rights claims against government interests. The scrutiny ladder is the formal version of that balancing act.
Keep studying AP Gov Unit 3
Strict Scrutiny (Unit 3)
Strict scrutiny is the level above intermediate scrutiny. It applies to race-based classifications and fundamental rights, and it requires a compelling interest plus narrow tailoring. The fastest way to remember the difference is the adjectives. Strict scrutiny demands a 'compelling' interest; intermediate scrutiny only demands an 'important' one.
Rational Basis Review (Unit 3)
Rational basis is the level below intermediate scrutiny and the default test for most laws. The government just needs a legitimate interest and a reasonable connection to it, which means the government almost always wins. Intermediate scrutiny exists precisely because the Court decided sex-based laws deserve more skepticism than that.
Bakke v. University of California (Unit 3)
In Bakke (1978), the Court evaluated race-conscious admissions and applied strict scrutiny, not intermediate scrutiny. That choice is the heart of the affirmative action debate in Topic 3.13. Knowing the difference between the two standards lets you explain why racial quotas were struck down while race could still be one factor among many.
Discrimination (Unit 3)
The scrutiny ladder is how the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause gets applied to real discrimination claims. The type of discrimination determines the test. Race gets strict scrutiny, sex gets intermediate scrutiny, and most other classifications get rational basis.
Intermediate scrutiny usually shows up in multiple-choice questions that test whether you can match the right level of scrutiny to the right classification. A classic stem asks which standard the Court applies to race-based affirmative action policies, and the answer is strict scrutiny. Intermediate scrutiny appears as the tempting wrong answer. To get these right, lock in the pairings: race means strict scrutiny, sex or gender means intermediate scrutiny, most everything else means rational basis. Also know the language of each test, since a question might describe a standard ('important governmental objective, substantially related') and ask you to name it. No released FRQ has required this term verbatim, but it strengthens any free-response answer about equal protection or affirmative action, especially in a SCOTUS comparison FRQ involving Fourteenth Amendment cases.
Both are heightened standards under the equal protection clause, but they apply to different classifications and demand different proof. Strict scrutiny applies to race and fundamental rights, and the government must show a compelling interest and a narrowly tailored law. Intermediate scrutiny applies to sex and gender, and the government only needs an important objective and a substantial relationship to it. On the exam, if the question involves affirmative action based on race, the answer is strict scrutiny, even though intermediate scrutiny sounds plausible.
Intermediate scrutiny requires the government to prove a law serves an important governmental objective and is substantially related to achieving that objective.
It applies to laws that classify people based on sex or gender, not race.
It is the middle level of a three-tier system, sitting between rational basis review (easiest to pass) and strict scrutiny (hardest to pass).
Race-based affirmative action policies are judged under strict scrutiny, which is why intermediate scrutiny is a common wrong answer on those MCQs.
All three levels of scrutiny are tools courts use to apply the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause to discrimination claims.
It's the standard of review courts apply to laws that discriminate based on sex or gender. The government must show the law serves an important governmental objective and is substantially related to achieving it.
No, not when the policy is race-based. In cases like Bakke (1978) and Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), the Court applied strict scrutiny to race-conscious policies because race is a suspect classification. Intermediate scrutiny is reserved for sex-based classifications.
Strict scrutiny applies to race and fundamental rights, requiring a compelling interest and narrow tailoring. Intermediate scrutiny applies to sex and gender, requiring only an important objective and a substantial relationship. The bar is lower, so the government wins more often under intermediate scrutiny.
Rational basis is the default test for most laws and only asks if the law is reasonably related to a legitimate government interest, which is easy to pass. Intermediate scrutiny demands more, requiring an important objective and a substantial connection, so sex-based laws get a harder look than ordinary regulations.
Yes, mainly in Unit 3 multiple-choice questions about equal protection and affirmative action. You're expected to match each level of scrutiny to its classification and recognize each test's language, like 'important governmental objective' for intermediate scrutiny.
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