Some Observations About Race, Sex, and Equal Protection

Essay by Lawrence G. Sager

In this essay, I want to consider some questions surrounding the most robust aspect of our equal protection tradition, that involving classifications that are “suspect”' because they explicitly disadvantage members of racial minorities or women. Doctrine regarding these suspect classifications is relatively well settled, but this symposium offers an inviting opportunity to reflect on what the doctrine means, and whether it is satisfactory. Having allowed myself to be drawn into this inquiring frame of mind, I find that a number of puzzles present themselves.


About the Author

Lawrence G. Sager. Professor of Law, New York University; A.B. 1963, Pomona College; LL.B. 1966, Columbia University.

Citation

59 Tul. L. Rev. 928 (1985)