Religion & Law

Kenji Yoshino has an article in the new Harvard Law Review that looks to be worth reading titled "The New Equal Protection," in part because of his claims about how dignity can be reflected in constitutional rights beyond the traditional categories of equality and liberty.  He writes that:

The introduction of a third overarching term like ?dignity? that acknowledges the links between liberty and equality is overdue. Too much emphasis has been placed on the formal distinction between the equality claims made under the equal protection guarantees and the liberty claims made under the due process or other guarantees. In practice, the Court does not abide by this distinction. The Court has long used the Due Process Clauses to further equality concerns, such as those relating to indigent individuals, national origin minorities, racial minorities, religious minorities, sexual minorities, and women. Conversely, the Court has used the equal protection guarantees to protect certain liberties, such as the right to travel, the right to vote, and the right to access the courts. We need to look past doctrinal categories to see that the rights secured within those categories are often hybrid rights. This Article focuses particularly on the liberty-based dignity claim, because I believe it offers a way for the Court to ?do? equality in an era of increasing pluralism anxiety.