Final answer:
The result of the United States v. Virginia case was the Supreme Court’s decision that the Virginia Military Institute's male-only admissions policy was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause, leading to the admission of women to the institute.
Step-by-step explanation:
One result of the United States v. Virginia case, often referred to as the VMI case, was the landmark decision that state-supported military institute, Virginia Military Institute (VMI), could not use gender as a criterion for admission and must allow women to attend. The Supreme Court's decision in 1996 held that VMI's male-only admissions policy was unconstitutional because it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This case was significant as it cemented the principle that any government action that discriminates on the basis of gender must be subjected to heightened scrutiny and must show an 'exceedingly persuasive justification' for such discrimination. As a direct result, VMI ended its 157-year-old tradition and admitted women for the first time in the fall of 1997.
This decision echoed the sentiments of the earlier court rulings that fight against segregation and discrimination, such as Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia, which were key elements in the battle for civil rights and equality under the law. The VMI case further represented a continuation of the legal struggle for equality, spanning from issues of race to gender, demonstrating the evolving understanding and application of the Equal Protection Clause in American constitutional law.