Reconstructing Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment to Assist Impoverished Children

This article maintains that the Supreme Court's most recent affirmative action decisions, City of Richmond v. JA. Croson, Co. and Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. F.C.C. provide a surprising opportunity for the Court to offer constitutional protection to many Americans who are currently under protected, particularly to poor children. This Article will argue that the Richmond/Metro double standard is acceptable in such difficult areas as affirmative action, particularly if the Court also adopts this Article's primary proposal that the Court should sometimes permit Congress to "dilute" Supreme Court decisions. This Article shall explore this proposed doctrine of limited dilution by applying it to poor children, a group that certainly needs more help from society than it is currently receiving." Poor children are the most victimized group in our society. Unable to protect their interests by either the vote or money, they see their numbers swell. A chasm lies between their suffering and their existing constitutional rights. The Court has failed in its duty to protect innocent groups who have suffered from societal indifference and/or exploitation; political oppression of the innocent is a particularly odious form of tyranny. It is now time to consider the lives poor children are actually leading. After all, if no serious disease exists, there is no need for a disruptive doctrinal cure.