Railway Express Agency v. New York
Week 11 — Equal Protection — Rational Basis
Facts
- New York aimed to improve road safety.
- In furtherance of that goal, NY prohibited commercial vehicles from selling advertising space on the side of their trucks but allowed the vehicles to advertise their own companies.
Issue
Whether the underinclusive distinction—banning third-party ads while permitting self-advertising—violated the Equal Protection Clause.
Holding
No. The law survived rational basis review and was constitutional.
Reasoning
- A law may target a specific classification that contributes to a harm the government has a legitimate interest in eliminating.
- Equal protection does not require a single government action to fully eliminate the targeted issue.
- The restriction on a certain class of advertising was rationally related to NY's legitimate interest in road safety.
Notes
- Underinclusive laws are generally allowed under rational basis.
- An underinclusive law is one in which the government fails to regulate all similarly situated people but still legitimately addresses some part of the targeted harm.