Blum v. Bacon
457 U.S. 132 · Decided June 14, 1982 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Blum v. Bacon was decided on June 14, 1982 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Poverty law, statutory welfare benefits” in the Civil Rights area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 457 U.S. 132 · 102 S. Ct. 2355 · 72 L. Ed. 2d 728 · 1982 U.S. LEXIS 20
- Docket number
- 81-770
- Decided
- June 14, 1982
- Argued
- April 28, 1982
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Poverty law, statutory welfare benefits
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Article VI, Section 2 (supremacy clause)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Held unconstitutional
- A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Blum, Commissioner, Department of Social Services of New York v. Bacon et Al
SCDB identifiers: case 1981-114, docket 1981-114-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Poverty law, statutory welfare benefits”
- Herweg et Vir v. Ray
- Heckler v. Campbell
- Schweiker v. Gray Panthers
- Beltran v. Myers
- Schweiker v. Hansen
- Heckler v. Ringer
Cases on the same legal provision: Article VI, Section 2 (supremacy clause)
- Toll v. Moreno
- United States v. New Mexico
- Washington v. United States
- Lawrence County v. Lead-Deadwood School District No. 40-1Law held unconstitutional
- Rose v. Arkansas State PoliceLaw held unconstitutional
- General Atomic Co. v. Felter
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Chardon v. Fernandez
- Ralston v. Robinson
- Polk County v. Dodson
- Blanding v. Dubose
- Cabell v. Chavez-Salido
- Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
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