Compelling interest definition
Compelling interest means the government must prove past or present racial discrimination requiring remedial attention.
Compelling interest is a legal term meaning interests “of the highest order.” Government interests that are merely reasonably or even significantly important are insufficient. Courts have ruled that municipal interests in revenue generation, economic development or eliminating congestion, are not compelling. The burden of proving that an interest is compelling lies squarely on the local government. Examples of interests that may be compelling are those related to preserving public health and safety. For example, safety concerns relating to traffic can be compelling. However, a county or municipality cannot simply point to an interest in traffic safety in the abstract as a compelling interest justifying a substantial burden on religious exercise. Rather, the government must show that it has a compelling interest in achieving that interest through the particular restriction at issue, such as safety interests in regulating traffic flow on the particular street at issue. Even where an interest is compelling, it must be pursued through the least restrictive means. If there is another way that the government could achieve the same compelling interest that would impose a lesser burden on religious exercise, it must choose that way rather than the more burdensome way.
Compelling interest really means what it says . . . many laws will not meet the test.”272 Given the history and the lack of any legitimate justification for the Johnson Amendment, it would be exceedingly difficult for the government to advance any compelling interest to justify the law. Even if the government were somehow able to produce a compelling governmental interest, the Johnson Amendment would not advance that interest (whatever it is) in the least restrictive means available. The Johnson Amendment contains no halfway measures and is an absolute prohibition. Such an absolute prohibition is not a least restrictive means of advancing the government’s interest, no matter how the Court would view it.
More Definitions of Compelling interest
Compelling interest and “least restrictive means” remain Whatever the shortcomings of sincerity screenings and this anec-
Compelling interest means the government must prove past or present racial discrimination that requires remedial attention. There must be a specific “strong basis in the evidence” for the compelling governmental interest, which is established by statistical evidence. In addition, the DBE program designed to address the compelling governmental interest must be narrowly tailored to remedy the identified discrimination. A “narrowly tailored” DBE program means that the remedy must fit the findings, and the evidence showing a compelling interest must guide the tailoring very closely. However, in any DBE program with race-conscious elements, race-neutral alternatives must be considered first.
Compelling interest and “least restrictive means” tests in a similar