ABSTRACT
In Democracy in America, de Tocqueville (1945, p. 97) observed, ‘For equality, their passion is ardent, insatiable, incessant, invincible.’ This passion for equality has found its fullest expression in the Supreme Court’s modern equal protection cases, serving as a major source of judicial innovation and policymaking. The equal protection guarantee has been described as ‘a moral standard wrapped in a legal command which allows the Court in establishing constitutional doctrine to help shape the nation’s thinking about social justice and ethical conduct’ (Note 1969, p. 1159, quoting Paul Freund).
