The Archive
Reference Library
The founding document as written, a plain overview of the seven Articles, and a glossary of archaic and legal terms.
Back to Supreme Court Rulings
Sex & Gender Equality
United States v. Virginia (VMI)
Decided: 1996
In brief
Struck down the Virginia Military Institute's male-only admissions policy as unconstitutional sex discrimination.
The Court's ruling in depth
Justice Ginsburg's opinion required that sex-based classifications rest on an 'exceedingly persuasive justification' — an intensified formulation of intermediate scrutiny. Virginia's proposed parallel women's-only program was not a substantially equivalent alternative. VMI is the doctrinal capstone of the modern law of sex equality.