What is the test for equal protection under the equal protection clause?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Brown, 142 Cal.Rptr.3d 824, 278 P.3d 1182, 54 Cal.4th 314 (Cal. 2012):
The concept of equal protection recognizes that persons who are similarly situated with respect to a law's legitimate purposes must be treated equally. (Cooley v. Superior Court (2002) 29 Cal.4th 228, 253, 127 Cal.Rptr.2d 177, 57 P.3d 654.) Accordingly, " [t]he first prerequisite to a meritorious claim under the equal protection clause is a showing that the state has adopted a classification that affects two or more similarly situated groups in an unequal manner. " (Ibid. ) "This initial inquiry is not whether persons are similarly situated for all purposes, but whether they are similarly situated for purposes of the law challenged. " (Ibid. )
As we have already explained, the important correctional purposes of a statute authorizing incentives for good behavior (see People v. Austin, supra, 30 Cal.3d 155, 163, 178 Cal.Rptr. 312, 636 P.2d 1) are not served by rewarding prisoners who served time before the incentives took effect and thus could
[278 P.3d 1192]
not have modified their
[54 Cal.4th 329]
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