Does the Equal Protection Clause Make Us A Fiddler on the Roof?

Perry v. Schwarzenegger is a very interesting read.  Highly recommended.

My favorite lines are these, on page 124 of the decision:   "Tradition alone ... cannot form a rational basis for a law. ... Rather, the state must have an interest apart from the fact of the tradition itself."

What an interesting thing to think about.

Comments

[Houseofrussell]

Reminds me of Holmes in "The Path of the Law," 10 Harvard Law Review 457 (1897).

"It is revolting to have no better reason for a rule of law than that so it was laid down in the time of Henry IV. It is still more revolting if the grounds upon which it was laid down have vanished long since, and the rule simply persists from blind imitation of the past."

I have not yet read Perry v. Schwarzenegger, so I do not know if the judge cites Holmes in his discussion.

Tom Russell
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