The following excerpt is from Johnson v. Shaffer, No. 2:12-cv-1059 KJM AC (E.D. Cal. 2013):
The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This establishes the rule that "all persons similarly situated should be treated alike." City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 439 (1985); see also Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1, 10 (1992). The equal protection clause forbids classifications that are inherently suspect, such as classifications based on race and sex, but classification on other grounds satisfies the constitution
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if it is rationally related to a legitimate state interest. City of Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 440.
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