Note:
Karen Caton Cathey, Refining the Methods of Middle-Tier Scrutiny: A New Proposal for Equal Protection, 61 TEXAS L. REV. 1501 (1983).
 

Abstract:
This Note argues that the Supreme Court’s equal protection “intermediate scrutiny,” applied to classes like gender that are not “suspect” yet require more than rational-basis scrutiny, is difficult to apply and produces inconsistent results. The author therefore proposes a revised equal protection analysis for middle-tier classes. First, the court should establish the state interest involved in the classification and determine how that interest relates to the purposes of the enacted statute. Second, the court should search for an essential reason for the particular classification, one that makes the classification the only effective way to exercise the state interest. Finally, the state must show that the classification is substantially related to the interest, so that the classification accurately targets the correct individuals. The author concludes that any individuals improperly affected by the classification must be afforded due process.