United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515 (1996)

On a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the constitutionality of Virginia's decision to only admit men to the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), asking women to instead enroll at the all-women Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership (VWIL). In a 7-1 decision, the Court held that banning women from VMI was in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The Court held that Virginia had failed to give adequate justification for its decision to not admit women, and that women would not receive the same level of instruction at VWIL that they would receive at VMI.

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