ABSTRACT
The minimum level of scrutiny the courts apply to governmental regulation on socioeconomic matters is the rational-basis test. This test requires that government rules or regulations be rationally related to some legitimate government interest. In United States v. Carolene Products Co., 304 US 144 (1938), the US Supreme Court upheld the Filled Milk Act, which prohibited the shipment in interstate commerce of "filled milk," an artificial fat or oil product made to resemble milk, in an effort to protect public health. The Court held that legislation that regulated the economy should be presumed constitutional and upheld if there was any rational relationship between the legislation and the government's legitimate interest. The appellees argued that because property values were drastically lower in poorer school districts, the legislation amounted to discrimination based on wealth. As in Carolene Products, the Supreme Court applied the traditional rational basis test.
