The Equal Protection Class of One Claim:

Olech, Engquist, and the Supreme Court’s Misadventure

Author: Robert C. Farrell
Published: 61 S.C. L. Rev. 107 (2009)
In The Equal Protection Class of One Claim: Olech, Engquist, and the Supreme Court’s Misadventure, Professor Farrell discusses the class of one equal protection claim devised by the Supreme Court in two recent decisions—Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562 (2000), and Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture, 128 S. Ct. 2146 (2008). He notes that the failure to follow equal protection precedent by requiring class membership has resulted in local squabbles becoming constitutional cases in federal courts. Furthermore, he examines an effort by lower federal courts to implement a bad faith exception to a class of one equal protection claim. He observes, however, that the Supreme Court subsequently failed to implement that exception and instead created a broad and vague exception that will create much confusion for lower federal courts in the future. He concludes by providing advice to the Supreme Court for the next class of one claim that it decides.