Califano v. Goldfarb

430 U.S. 199 · Decided March 2, 1977 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Califano v. Goldfarb was decided on March 2, 1977 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Sex discrimination (excluding employment)” in the Civil Rights area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.

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

Califano, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare v. Goldfarb

SCDB identifiers: case 1976-061, docket 1976-061-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Sex discrimination (excluding employment)”

• Califano v. Webster
  430 U.S. 313Decided March 21, 19779–0Per curiam
• Stanton v. Stanton
  429 U.S. 501Decided January 25, 19778–1Per curiam
• Vorchheimer v. School District of Philadelphia
  430 U.S. 703Decided April 19, 19774–4
• Craig v. BorenAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
  429 U.S. 190Decided December 20, 19767–2William J. Brennan Jr.
• Mathews v. de Castro
  429 U.S. 181Decided December 13, 19769–0Potter Stewart
• Quilloin v. Walcott et Vir
  434 U.S. 246Decided January 10, 19789–0Thurgood Marshall

See all

Cases on the same legal provision: Social Security Act

• Califano v. Torres
  435 U.S. 1Decided February 27, 19787–2Per curiam
• Califano v. Yamasaki
  442 U.S. 682Decided June 20, 19798–0Harry A. Blackmun
• New York State Department of Social Services v. Dublino
  413 U.S. 405Decided June 21, 19737–2Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Philpott v. Essex County Welfare BoardLaw held unconstitutional
  409 U.S. 413Decided January 10, 19739–0William O. Douglas
• Richardson v. Wright
  405 U.S. 208Decided February 24, 19726–3Per curiam
• Richardson v. Perales
  402 U.S. 389Decided May 3, 19716–3Harry A. Blackmun

Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

• Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Bagamasbad
  429 U.S. 24Decided November 1, 19769–0Per curiam
• General Electric Co. v. Gilbert
  429 U.S. 125Decided December 7, 19766–3William H. Rehnquist
• Mathews v. de Castro
  429 U.S. 181Decided December 13, 19769–0Potter Stewart
• Craig v. BorenAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
  429 U.S. 190Decided December 20, 19767–2William J. Brennan Jr.
• International Union of Electrical v. Robbins & Myers, Inc.
  429 U.S. 229Decided December 20, 19769–0William H. Rehnquist
• Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp.
  429 U.S. 252Decided January 11, 19775–3Lewis F. Powell Jr.

See all

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