Clark v. Jeter

Petitioner

Cherlyn Clark

Respondent

Gene Jeter

Petitioner's Claim

That Pennsylvania's six-year statute of limitations for paternity actions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Evalynn Welling

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Craig A. McLean

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Anthony M. Kennedy, Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Connor (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

None

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

6 June 1988

Decision

Held that Pennsylvania's six-year statute of limitations for paternity actions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Related Cases

• Levy v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 68 (1968).
• Weber v. Aetna Casualty Surety Co., 406 U.S. 164 (1972).
• Gomez v. Perez, 409 U.S. 535 (1973).
• Mills v. Hableutzel, 456 U.S. 91 (1982).
• Pickett v. Brown, 462 U.S. 1 (1983).

Sources

"DNA Evidence: Boon or Boondoggle for Criminal Justice?" West's Encyclopedia of American Law. Minneapolis, MN: West, 1998.

Further Readings

• Brienza, Julie. "Paternity Settlements Ruled Unconstitutional by Michigan Court." Trial, August 1995, p. 80.
• Hall, Kermit L., ed. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
• Lieberman, Jethro K. The Enduring Constitution: An Exploration of the First Two Hundred Years. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.