Louis W. Sullivan v. Elizabeth Stroop
496 U.S. 478 · Decided June 14, 1990 · 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
Louis W. Sullivan v. Elizabeth Stroop was decided on June 14, 1990 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist 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
- 496 U.S. 478 · 110 S. Ct. 2499 · 110 L. Ed. 2d 438 · 1990 U.S. LEXIS 3145
- Docket number
- 89-535
- Decided
- June 14, 1990
- Argued
- March 26, 1990
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Poverty law, statutory welfare benefits
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Aid to Families with Dependent Children (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. | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
Louis W. Sullivan, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Elizabeth Stroop, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1989-110, docket 1989-110-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Poverty law, statutory welfare benefits”
- Louis W. Sullivan v. Sandra Everhart
- Sullivan v. Zebley
- Sandra Gardebring v. Kathryn Jenkins
- Henry G. Cisneros v. Alpine Ridge Group
- Bowen v. Yuckert
- Lukhard v. Reed
Cases on the same legal provision: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (Social Security Act)
- Bowen v. Gilliard
- Linda J. Blessing v. Cathy Freestone, Etc.
- Townsend v. SwankLaw held unconstitutional
- Dandridge v. Williams
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles
- Sullivan v. Zebley
- Louis W. Sullivan v. Sandra Everhart
- Marlus C. Zinermon v. Darrell E. Burch
- Missouri v. Jenkins
- Ngiraingas v. Sanchez
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