Characteristics of a Suspect Class

The following are characteristics that the Supreme Court has identified in various cases as the traits that are associated with a suspect class. While it is not necessary for each trait to be present for a class to be considered suspect, the absence of any of the listed traits might cause the Supreme Court to refuse to declare the class to be suspect. However, the absence of a few of the listed traits would not be fatal to a class being considered quasi suspect as in the case of gender.

(1) The group discriminated against has suffered from a history of past discrimination in their treatment by the legal system;

(2) The trait that is the basis for the discrimination generally bears no relationship to a person's ability to contribute to society (and is likely based on stereotypical thinking about the abilities of the class rather than real differences);

(3) The trait shared by the members of the class is often singled out to reinforce prejudice against the group or label the group as inferior;

(4) The group discriminated against is relatively politically powerless by its numbers in the population, by under-representation in government, or by its inability to influence the legislative agenda;

(5) The trait shared by the group is central to personal identity (previously referred to as an immutable characteristic)

(6) The class is a "discrete and insular minority" based on whether the trait is a distinct trait, whether the group that shares the trait is a minority in the population, and whether the group is "insular" in the sense of often living in a separate community or interacting most frequently with other members of the group; and

(7) The trait is visible.