What is the legal test applied in determining the constitutionality of a discriminatory discrimination statute?

^4. When a statute's constitutionality is challenged on due process grounds, a court must first make a determination as to whether the law being challenged infringes upon a constitutionally protected fundamental liberty interest. Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702, 720 (1997). If no interest is infringed, the statute will be upheld so long as it is "rationally related to legitimate government interests." Id. at 728. If the statute infringes upon a "fundamental liberty interest at all" the statute will be found unconstitutional "unless the infringement is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest." Id. at 721. This level of analysis is referred to as heightened scrutiny.

Similarly, when a statute's constitutionality is challenged under equal protection, a court must analyze "whether the classifications drawn by [the] statute constitute an arbitrary and invidious discrimination." Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, 9 (1967). The level of scrutiny applied in analyzing the constitutionality of the statute, whether it is rational basis or a more heightened scrutiny, depends on the classification created by the legislation. See Id. at 11. Which level of scrutiny a court uses in determining a statute's constitutionality has a major impact on whether the law is upheld as constitutional.