Question

What determines if a law or action will be subject to Intermediate Scrutiny?"

a) The level of political debate related to the law
b) Whether the law promotes a fundamental right
c) The presence of a substantial government interest and the use of reasonable means
d) The law's popularity among the public

Answer 1

A law or action will be subjected to intermediate scrutiny if it is related to classifications like sex or gender and must show that it advances an important government interest and employs means substantially related to that interest. The correct option is c.

Step-by-step explanation:

The standard of intermediate scrutiny applies to cases involving discrimination based on gender or sex and other classifications that are not as protected as those under strict scrutiny, such as race or religion.

Intermediate scrutiny requires the law or action to meet certain criteria: it must further an important government interest, and the means employed must be substantially related to achieving that interest. This level of review is less stringent than strict scrutiny, which is reserved for cases involving fundamental rights or suspect classifications, and more rigorous than rational basis review, which is used for all other cases.

For a law to be subject to intermediate scrutiny, the government must demonstrate that the law advances an important government interest and does so through means that are substantially related to that interest. This puts the onus on the government to justify the unequal treatment under the law, as seen in cases like Craig v. Boren and Clark v. Jeter.

Hence, Option c is correct.