Reed v. Reed

Reed v. Reed (1971) was a landmark Supreme Court case that addressed gender discrimination. The case involved a man and woman, both named Reed, who competed to be the administrator of their deceased son's estate. Idaho's law automatically favored men over women in appointing guardians, which the Court found unconstitutional. The ruling established that laws that discriminate based on gender must have a valid reason and are subject to the same legal scrutiny as laws that discriminate based on race or religion. This case marked the first time the Supreme Court ruled that gender discrimination violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.