Califano v. Goldfarb
Significance
Appellant
Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare on behalf of the Social Security benefits program
Appellee
Leon Goldfarb, on behalf of widowers seeking survivors benefits from the program
Appellant's Claim
That the Social Security Act's gender-based distinction requiring widowers to prove that they were dependent on their spouses for at least half of their support in order to receive survivor benefits, did not discriminate against the deceased females.
Chief Lawyer for Appellant
Keith A. Jones
Chief Lawyer for Appellee
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Justices for the Court
William J. Brennan, Jr. (writing for the Court), Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White
Justices Dissenting
Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger, William H. Rehnquist, Potter Stewart
Place
Washington, D.C.
Date of Decision
5 October 1977
Decision
That the Social Security Act's gender-based distinction requiring widowers to prove that they were dependent on their spouses for at least half of their support in order to receive survivor benefits, discriminated against the deceased spouses by violating the Fifth Amendment's pledge of equal protection under the law.
Related Cases
- Arizona Governing Committee v. Norris, 463 U.S. 1073 (1983).
Further Readings
- Cohen, William, and John Kaplan. Constitutional Law: Civil Liberty and Individual Rights. Mineola, NY: The Foundation Press, 1982.
- Kauper, Paul G., and Francis X. Beytagh. Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials. Boston: Little, Brown, 1980.
Additional topics
- Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission of NewYork - Significance, The Four-part Test, Questioning The Four-part Test, Further Readings
- Butz v. Economou - Significance, The Lower Court Rulings, Officials Entitled To Qualified Immunity, Officials Not Liable For Mistakes In Judgment
- Califano v. Goldfarb - Significance
- Other Free Encyclopedias
Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1973 to 1980