means-end scrutiny
Means-end scrutiny is a type of judicial review balancing test that evaluates the constitutionality of a law by weighing the government’s method against the government’s objective of the law. Courts use the means-end analysis to determine whether to uphold or strike-down a law when that law may violate constitutional rights. For example, in Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190 (1976), the Supreme Court held that an Oklahoma statute prohibiting the sale of beer to men under the age of 21 and to women under the age of 18, was unconstitutional. The Court arrived at this decision by weighing the state’s purpose of this law (end), which was protecting public safety since men were statistically more likely to engage in drunk driving, against the law’s method of achieving this goal (means), requiring men to be a higher age to buy alcohol than women. There are three levels of means-end analysis: strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, and rational basis.
[Last reviewed in March of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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