Commentary
Last week’s installment covered the first three parts of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment—the Citizenship Clause, Privileges or Immunities Clause, and Due Process Clause. This week’s installment addresses the remainder of Section 1 as well as Sections 2 through 5.
Section 1 (concluded): “nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”Comments: This is the Equal Protection Clause. It applies against state governments a principle of trust law underlying the original Constitution: that government has a duty to treat people fairly and impartially (pdf). Like the rest of Section 1, it generally doesn’t apply to private, non-governmental, conduct.
