Heckler v. Mathews

465 U.S. 728 · Decided March 5, 1984 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Heckler v. Mathews was decided on March 5, 1984 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Sex discrimination (excluding employment)” 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

Heckler, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Mathews et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1983-049, docket 1983-049-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Social Security Act

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  487 U.S. 412Decided June 24, 19886–3Sandra Day O'Connor

Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

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  465 U.S. 208Decided February 21, 19848–1William H. Rehnquist
• McCain v. Lybrand
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• Solem v. Bartlett
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• Consolidated Rail Corporation v. Darrone
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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