Frontiero v. Richardson

Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Federal law provided housing and medical benefits to spouses of military members but required female members to prove their husbands were financially dependent, while male members’ wives were automatically deemed dependent. Sharron Frontiero, a female Air Force lieutenant, challenged the rule as gender discrimination.

Significance

Justice Brennan’s plurality opinion (joined by three other justices) held that gender classifications should be subject to strict scrutiny, comparing sex discrimination to race discrimination. However, only four justices agreed to this standard. Justice Powell concurred in the judgment but preferred to wait for the Equal Rights Amendment ratification process. The Court struck down the law under any standard, but the failure to achieve a majority for strict scrutiny led to the intermediate scrutiny standard adopted in Craig v. Boren.

Category

US Federal Case Law