Atkins v. Rivera

477 U.S. 154 · Decided June 23, 1986 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Atkins v. Rivera was decided on June 23, 1986 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Poverty law, statutory welfare benefits” in the Civil Rights area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Atkins, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare v. Rivera et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1985-122, docket 1985-122-01.

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error