What standard of review applies to laws affecting fundamental rights?

The correct answer is that strict scrutiny applies to laws affecting fundamental rights. This standard of review is the highest level of scrutiny applied by courts when evaluating the constitutionality of laws or government actions that infringe upon fundamental rights or involve suspect classifications, such as race or national origin.

When a law is subject to strict scrutiny, the government must demonstrate that the law serves a compelling state interest and that it is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest through the least restrictive means possible. This means that the law must be necessary to achieve a significant objective and that there are no less restrictive alternatives available.

Fundamental rights typically include rights that are explicitly or implicitly protected by the Constitution, such as the right to vote, the right to free speech, and the right to privacy. Because these rights are essential to individual liberty and democracy, any laws that infringe on them face this rigorous standard of judicial review to ensure that government actions do not unjustly limit these important freedoms.

In contrast, the other standards of review involve a more lenient approach. Rational basis review requires that a law must only be reasonably related to a legitimate government interest, while intermediate scrutiny, used primarily for gender discrimination cases, requires that a law serves an important government objective and is substantially related to that