206 NEW MEXICO LAW REVIEW [Vol. 39
applies to fundamental rights,
112
under which a state action is presumptively
unconstitutional,
113
and will only be upheld if narrowly tailored to achieve a
compelling state interest.
114
The Court has subsequently developed a middle tier of
intermediate scrutiny,
115
the test for which varies according to the type of legal
challenge.
116
This three-tier system is not as complete or reliable as one might hope. Some
rights are subject to multiple levels of scrutiny depending on the type of burden
imposed.
117
For others, the test varies based on the severity of the burden
imposed.
118
Other rights do not fit into any of the three levels, having their own
unique tests that appear ad hoc.
119
Moreover, occasionally when a given test is
(2003) (Thomas, J., joined by Scalia, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). However, the Court first used
the term “strict scrutiny” in Skinner v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson, 316 U.S. 535, 541 (1942) (holding that strict
scrutiny is necessary under the Equal Protection Clause to avoid invidious discrimination).
112. See Kadrmas v. Dickinson Pub. Sch., 487 U.S. 450, 458 (1988) (noting that government interference
with fundamental rights triggers strict scrutiny).
113. See United States v. Am. Library Ass’n, 539 U.S. 194, 235 (2003) (stating that a government action
burdening the Free Speech Clause is “presumptively invalid owing to strict scrutiny”); cf. Davenport v. Wash.
Educ. Ass’n, 127 S. Ct. 2372, 2381 (2007) (citing R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377, 382 (1992)).
114. Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244, 270 (2003) (applying strict scrutiny to a racial-preference program).
115. Although intermediate scrutiny is often invoked in certain equal-protection matters, see Clark v. Jeter,
486 U.S. 456, 461 (1988) (“Between these extremes of rational basis review and strict scrutiny lies a level of
intermediate scrutiny, which generally has been applied to discriminatory classifications based on sex or
illegitimacy.”), it also applies to certain due process claims. E.g., Turner Broad. Sys., Inc. v. FCC, 512 U.S. 622,
642 (1994) (applying intermediate scrutiny to content-neutral regulations on speech).
116. Intermediate scrutiny involving the Equal Protection Clause requires the challenged action to be
substantially related to advancing important government interests. Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190, 197 (1976).
However, intermediate scrutiny is a higher hurdle when involved in free speech issues, where the challenged
government action must be narrowly tailored (as opposed to merely being “substantially related”) to achieving a
significant government interest. Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 799 (1989).
It is unclear whether laws triggering intermediate scrutiny are presumptively valid or invalid. At least
two cases seem to say that laws under this test are presumptively unconstitutional, because the burden is shifted
to the party seeking to uphold the law (which presumably would be the government). Heckler v. Mathews, 465 U.S.
728, 744 (1984) (“[T]he party seeking to uphold a statute that classifies individuals on the basis of their gender
must carry the burden of showing…that the classification serves important governmental objectives and that the
discriminatory means employed are substantially related to the achievement of those objectives.”) (quoting Miss.
Univ. for Women v. Hogan, 458 U.S. 718, 724–25 (1982) (internal quotation marks omitted)).
117. For example, free speech is subject to at least five levels of scrutiny. Restrictions on speech that
discriminate against a particular viewpoint are per se invalid. Members of the City Council of L.A. v. Taxpayers
for Vincent, 466 U.S. 789, 804 (1984). Regulations on content are subject to strict scrutiny. See Perry Educ. Ass’n
v. Perry Local Educators’ Ass’n, 460 U.S. 37, 45 (1983). Content-neutral regulations are subject to intermediate
scrutiny. See United States v. O’Brien, 391 U.S. 367, 377 (1968). Speech in a limited public forum can be further
restricted to conform to the forum’s intended purpose. Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of Univ. of Va., 515 U.S.
819, 829–30 (1995). Finally, in a nonpublic forum, any restriction on speech is acceptable so long as it is
reasonable. Int’l Soc’y for Krishna Consciousness v. Lee, 505 U.S. 672, 679 (1992).
118. For example, voting is a fundamental right. See Burdick v. Takushi, 504 U.S. 428, 433–34 (1992).
Severe burdens on voting are subject to strict scrutiny. Id. Burdens that are neither severe nor discriminatory need
only be reasonable so long as the interest advanced is important. Crawford v. Marion County Election Bd., 128 S.
Ct. 1610, 1612 (2008) (citing Burdick, 504 U.S. at 433–34).
119. The clearest example of this is abortion. Roe v. Wade established its trimester framework for abortion
that was sui generis in constitutional law. See 410 U.S. 113, 163–65 (1973). Roe suggested this trimester
framework was a form of strict scrutiny, see id. at 155, 163, and some Justices subsequently equated the Roe test
with strict scrutiny. E.g., Planned Parenthood of Se. Pa. v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 934 (1992) (Blackmun, J.,
concurring in part, concurring in judgment in part, and dissenting in part). But in Casey, a fractured Court seemed
to downgrade abortion to some form of lesser right, see id. at 925 & nn.1–2 (noting that the statutes upheld in
Casey would not survive strict scrutiny); id. at 951–53, 966 (Rehnquist, C.J., joined by White, Scalia, and Thomas,
JJ., concurring in judgment in part and dissenting in part) (denying there is any right to abortion but, if there were,