Nguyen v. INS: The Supreme Court Rationalizes Gender-Based Distinctions in Upholding an Equal Protection Challenge

Abstract

INTRODUCTION|In 1973, the United States Supreme Court, in Frontiero v. Richardson, announced that classifications based on gender were suspect, like those classifications baled on race, alienage, and national origin, and warranted a heightened level of scrutiny. The Court noted gender, like other suspect classifications, was an "immutable characteristic determined solely by the accident of birth." The Court further noted gender could be distinguished from non-suspect classes, such as intelligence or physical disability, because a person's gender frequently bore no relationship to the person's ability to perform in or contribute to society...