Venue: |
SCOTUS
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Facts: |
Idaho statute provides that when you're picking who should administer
an estate, preference between equally entitled candidates should
go to males. |
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Posture: |
Court appoints the father of a deceased child rather than the mother.
Appeal. |
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Issue: |
Does the dofference in sex of competing applicants bear a rational
relationship to a state objective? |
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Holding: |
No. |
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Rule: |
A classification must be reasonable, not arbitrary, and must rest
upon some ground of difference having a fair and substantial
relation to the object of the legislation, so that all persons
similarly circumstances shall be treated alike. |
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Reasoning: |
Well, making decisions easier on the courts might be a legitimate
objective, but it's not so legitimate that it justifies the
very sorty of arbitrary choice prohibited by the Equal Protection
clause. |
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Dicta: |
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