Race-based discrimination, including discrimination in favor of minorities (affirmative action), must pass strict scrutiny. Decided June 12, 1995 (argued January 17, 1995). Opinion of the Court: Sandra Day O'Connor → go there Dissenting: Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg. Applied: the Fifth Amendment → go there Applied: the Fourteenth Amendment → go there Topic: Discrimination based on race and ethnicity. Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña, 515 U.S. 200 (1995), is a landmark United States Supreme Court case which held that racial classifications, imposed by the federal government, must be analyzed under a standard of "strict scrutiny", the most stringent level of review, which requires that racial classifications be narrowly tailored to further compelling governmental interests. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the majority opinion of the Court, which effectively overturned Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. FCC, in which the Court had created a two tiered system for analyzing racial classifications. Adarand held the federal government to the same standards as the state and local governments through a process of "reverse incorporation", in which the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause was held to bind the federal government to the same standards as state and local governments are bound under the 14th Amendment. Wiki link