Rostker v. Goldberg (1980)
- Docket
- 80-251
- Decided
- 1980-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the MSSA's gender distinctions violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment? Conclusion: In a 6-to-3 decision, the Court held that Congress's decision to exempt women from registration "was not the 'accidental by-product of a traditional way of thinking about females'" and did not violate the Due Process Clause. The Court found that men and women, because of combat restrictions on women, were not "similarly situated" for the purposes of draft registration. The Court also upheld Congress's judgment that the administrative and military problems that would be created by drafting women for noncombat roles were sufficient to justify the Military Selective Service Act.