Quern v. Mandley
436 U.S. 725 · Decided June 6, 1978 · 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
Quern v. Mandley was decided on June 6, 1978 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Potter Stewart 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
- 436 U.S. 725 · 98 S. Ct. 2068 · 56 L. Ed. 2d 658 · 1978 U.S. LEXIS 101
- Docket number
- 76-1159
- Decided
- June 6, 1978
- Argued
- November 30, 1977
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- 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. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Did not participate: Harry A. Blackmun.
Full case caption
Quern, Director, Department of Public Aid of Illinois, et al. v. Mandley et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1977-104, docket 1977-104-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Poverty law, statutory welfare benefits”
- Miller v. Youakim
- Alexander v. United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Batterton v. Francis
- Maher v. Doe
- Ohio Bureau of Employment Services v. Hodory
- Califano v. Yamasaki
Cases on the same legal provision: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (Social Security Act)
- Townsend v. SwankLaw held unconstitutional
- Dandridge v. Williams
- Bowen v. Gilliard
- Linda J. Blessing v. Cathy Freestone, Etc.
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Califano v. Jobst
- Idaho Department of Employment v. Smith
- Nashville Gas Co. v. Satty
- Richmond Unified School District v. Berg
- United Air Lines, Inc. v. McMann
- Quilloin v. Walcott et Vir
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