Martinez v. Bynum

Petitioner

Oralia Martinez

Respondent

Raymond L. Bynum

Petitioner's Claim

The Texas Education Code 21.031(d) violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it denied tuition-free public schooling to minors who were living away from a "parent, guardian, or other person having lawful control of him" for the sole purpose of attending "public, free schools" in the state of Texas.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Edward J. Tuddenham

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Richard L. Arnett

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Burger, Sandra Day O'Connor, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

Thurgood Marshall

Place

Washington D.C.

Date of Decision

2 May 1983

Decision

The Supreme Court held that Texas Education Code did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. States were permitted by the Constitution to extend the availability of tuition-free education only to bona fide residents.

Further Readings