Secretary of Public Welfare of Pennsylvania v. Institutionalized Juveniles

442 U.S. 640 · Decided June 20, 1979 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Secretary of Public Welfare of Pennsylvania v. Institutionalized Juveniles was decided on June 20, 1979 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Juveniles” 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

Secretary of Public Welfare of Pennsylvania et al. v. Institutionalized Juveniles et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1978-130, docket 1978-130-01.

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Other cases on “Juveniles”

• Parham v. J.R.
  442 U.S. 584Decided June 20, 19796–3Warren E. Burger
• Swisher v. Brady
  438 U.S. 204Decided June 26, 19786–3Warren E. Burger
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  434 U.S. 542Decided February 22, 19788–0William J. Brennan Jr.
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  454 U.S. 201Decided December 2, 19816–3Thurgood Marshall
• Santosky v. KramerLaw held unconstitutional
  455 U.S. 745Decided March 24, 19825–4Harry A. Blackmun
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  460 U.S. 660Decided March 30, 19839–0Thurgood Marshall

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Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)

• Sandstrom v. Montana
  442 U.S. 510Decided June 18, 19799–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Mackey v. Montrym
  443 U.S. 1Decided June 25, 19795–4Warren E. Burger
• Barry v. BarchiLaw held unconstitutional
  443 U.S. 55Decided June 25, 19799–0Byron R. White
• Jackson v. Virginia
  443 U.S. 307Decided June 27, 19798–0Potter Stewart
• Bellotti v. BairdLaw held unconstitutional
  443 U.S. 622Decided July 2, 19798–1Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Moore v. Duckworth
  443 U.S. 713Decided July 2, 19799–0Per curiam

Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

• Board of Trustees of Keene State College v. Sweeney
  439 U.S. 24Decided November 13, 19785–4Per curiam
• Dougherty County v. White
  439 U.S. 32Decided November 28, 19785–4Thurgood Marshall
• Holt Civic Club v. City of Tuscaloosa
  439 U.S. 60Decided November 28, 19786–3William H. Rehnquist
• Califano v. Aznavorian
  439 U.S. 170Decided December 11, 19789–0Potter Stewart
• Lalli v. Lalli
  439 U.S. 259Decided December 11, 19785–4Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Duren v. MissouriAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
  439 U.S. 357Decided January 9, 19798–1Byron R. White

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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