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United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz

449 U.S. 166 · Decided December 9, 1980 · 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

United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz was decided on December 9, 1980 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Poverty law, constitutional” in the Civil Rights area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
449 U.S. 166 · 101 S. Ct. 453 · 66 L. Ed. 2d 368 · 1980 U.S. LEXIS 158
Docket number
79-870
Decided
December 9, 1980
Argued
October 6, 1980
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
7–2
Majority opinion
William H. Rehnquist
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Appeal
Issue area
Civil Rights
Legal provision
Fifth Amendment (equal protection)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.DissentWrote an opinion
Justice Potter StewartMajority
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallDissent
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunMajority
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Majority
Justice William H. RehnquistMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice John Paul StevensSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion

Full case caption

United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz

SCDB identifiers: case 1980-013, docket 1980-013-01.

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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