Heckler v. Campbell
461 U.S. 458 · Decided May 16, 1983 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Heckler v. Campbell was decided on May 16, 1983 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. 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
Case details
- Citations
- 461 U.S. 458 · 103 S. Ct. 1952 · 76 L. Ed. 2d 66 · 1983 U.S. LEXIS 161
- Docket number
- 81-1983
- Decided
- May 16, 1983
- Argued
- February 28, 1983
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Poverty law, statutory welfare benefits
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Social Security Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Heckler, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Campbell
SCDB identifiers: case 1982-078, docket 1982-078-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Poverty law, statutory welfare benefits”
- Blum v. BaconLaw held unconstitutional
- Heckler v. Ringer
- Heckler v. Community Health Services of Crawford County, Inc.
- Heckler v. Day
- Herweg et Vir v. Ray
- Heckler v. Turner
Cases on the same legal provision: Social Security Act
- Heckler v. Mathews
- Bowen v. Owens
- Bowen v. City of New York
- Bowen v. Public Agencies Opposed to Social Security Entrapment
- Schweiker v. Chilicky
- Califano v. Torres
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Miranda
- City of Port Arthur v. United States
- City of Lockhart v. United States
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wyoming
- Briscoe v. Lahue
- Arizona v. California
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