1. Palmore v. Sidoti, (1984)

2. Facts: A divorced white woman was awarded custody of her child until she remarried a black man.

3. Procedural Posture: The trial court awarded custody to the father based on the idea that it was in the best interest of the child to protect the child from the discrimination and prejudice that would accompany her remaining with her mother in an interracial family.

4. Issue: Whether racial classifications are a constitutional justification for the removal of an infant child from her mother.

5. Holding: No.

6. Majority Reasoning: Racial classifications trigger strict scrutiny. The classification must be justified by a compelling governmental interest and must be necessary to accomplish a legitimate purpose. Here, the state interest in protecting a child is substantial. It is true that racial discrimination does exist. However, the existence of private prejudices can not be tolerated by the Constitution, and so are never a justification for racial classifications.