Opinion ID: 1671504
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: equal protection of laws

Text: LA. CONST. art. I, § 3 provides: No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. No law shall discriminate against a person because of race or religious ideas, beliefs, or affiliations. No law shall arbitrarily, capriciously, or unreasonably discriminate against a person because of birth, age, sex, culture, physical condition, or political ideas or affiliations. Slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited, except in the latter case as punishment for crime. As noted by this Court in Manuel v. State, 95-CA-2189 (La.7/2/96), 692 So.2d 320, LA. CONST. art. I, § 3 provides for three levels of constitutional review or scrutiny. Laws which classify individuals based on race or religious beliefs are repudiated completely. An intermediate level of scrutiny is reserved for laws which classify persons on the basis of birth, age, sex, culture, physical condition, or political ideas or affiliation. The lowest level of scrutiny applies to laws which classify persons on any basis other than those enumerated in LA. CONST. art. I, § 3. Such laws need only be rationally related to a legitimate governmental purpose, and a person attacking the constitutionality of such a classification has the stringent burden of demonstrating that the law does not suitably further any appropriate state interest. See, Manuel, supra at 339; Moore v. RLCC Technologies, Inc. 95-2621 (La.2/28/96), 668 So.2d 1135; Sibley v. Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University, 477 So.2d 1094 (La. 1985). The basis for plaintiff's equal protection challenge is its assertion that the statute unfairly discriminates against people injured by thoroughbreds as opposed to people injured by other types of animals. Plainly, this is not a classification based on one of the characteristics enumerated in LA. CONST. art. I, § 3. As a result, the lowest level of scrutiny applies, and to prevail plaintiff must show that La.R.S. 4:173.1 does not further an appropriate state interest. The clearly stated policy of the legislature is the promotion and encouragement of licensed horse racing in Louisiana. La.R.S. 4:141 states: A. It is the policy of the state of Louisiana in furtherance of its responsibility to provide revenues for the operation of state government for its people, to acknowledge and declare that the providing of funds and financial assistance to licensed horse racing tracks in the state of Louisiana constitutes an authorized public function and purpose of the state of Louisiana ... (1) To institute and maintain a program to encourage and permit development of the business of horse racing with parimutuel wagering thereon on a high plane. (2) To institute and maintain a program to encourage and permit development of the breeding and ownership of race horses in the state.       B. This Chapter is an exercise of the police powers of the state to promote the public health, safety and welfare. The horse racing industry is an important source of state revenue in addition to being a substantial employer of Louisiana residents. The owners of the thoroughbred horses used in racing are the lifeblood of the industry, in that they are the major source of the industry's capital. La.R.S. 4:173.1 encourages the ownership of thoroughbred race horses by limiting an owner's liability only when the thoroughbred is placed in the custody of another. The liability of the owner of the horse is not altogether eliminated. Rather, the owner's liability is lowered from strict liability to gross negligence, and only when the owner places the thoroughbred in the custody of another. By removing a considerable risk of tort liability from the absentee owner and placing it on the party who actually has custody of the thoroughbred, La.R.S. 4:173.1 encourages the flow of capital into the racing industry in the same way that a corporate business entity promotes shareholder investment by limiting liability. It also encourages owners to place their horses with third party trainers, and thereby fosters the profession of horse training. We find that La.R.S. 4:173.1 is rationally related to the legislature's stated public purpose of promoting thoroughbred racing in Louisiana. [1]