A documentary that looks at the Supreme Court decision in the case Yick Wo v. Hopkins from 1886. The decision upheld the right of a noncitizen Chinese immigrant to equal protection under the 14th Amendment. [20:00]

Controversy always arises when groups that have been discriminated against in the past are favored in efforts to provide them equal protection and opportunities.

The law applies to everyone: this is the essence of the concept of the "rule of law."

An early Supreme Court decision in the case of Strauder v. West Virginia (1880) concluded that West Virginia violated the equal protection of the law rights in the Fourteenth Amendment.

Laws that can potentially violate a person's equal protection under the laws are the subject of strict judicial scrutiny by the courts.

Intermediate judicial scrutiny of laws is applied where laws create categories of people, to ensure that everyone receives equal protection under the law. The case of Craig v. Boren (1976) is discussed as an example.

If a person or group decides to challenge an existing law, the onus is on them to prove that the law is not rational.

In the Stanton v. Stanton (1975) case, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no rational basis in that situation to discriminate based on age.

The due process clause in the Fifth Amendment can be invoked if the parties feel they have not been given equal protection under the laws, and want to mount a court challenge against the national government.