Editing Strict scrutiny (section)

==Suspect classification==
{{Main article|Suspect classification}}
The Supreme Court has established standards for determining whether a statute or policy must satisfy strict scrutiny. One ruling suggested that the affected class of people must have experienced a history of discrimination, must be definable as a group based on "obvious, immutable, or distinguishing characteristics", or be a minority or "politically powerless".<ref>{{cite web |title=Lyng v. Castillo, 477 U.S. 635 (1986) |url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/477/635/ |website=Justia - US Supreme Court |access-date=9 May 2022 |date=27 June 1986 |quote=As a historical matter, [close relatives] have not been subjected to discrimination; they do not exhibit obvious, immutable, or distinguishing characteristics that define them as a discrete group; and they are not a minority, or politically powerless.}}</ref>

The Court has consistently found that classifications based on race, national origin, and alienage require strict scrutiny review. The Supreme Court held that all race-based classifications must be subjected to strict scrutiny in ''[[Adarand Constructors v. Peña]],'' 515 U.S. 200 (1995), overruling ''[[Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. FCC]]'' (89-453), 497 U.S. 547 (1990), which had briefly allowed the use of intermediate scrutiny to analyze the Equal Protection implications of race-based classifications in the narrow category of affirmative-action programs established by the federal government in the broadcasting field.