1. Describe the constitutional claim raised by the plaintiffs.
2. Criticize the Ames’ standards for achieving its housing goals.
3. Decide the case. Explain.
The 14th Amendment provides that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment has been interpreted to provide that same protection against the power of the federal government. Fundamentally, these laws forbid a government from treating one person (including a corporation) differently from another without a rational basis for doing so.