Jefferson v. Hackney

406 U.S. 535 · Decided May 30, 1972 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Jefferson v. Hackney was decided on May 30, 1972 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed 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

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Jefferson et al. v. Hackney, Commissioner of Public Welfare, et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1971-120, docket 1971-120-01.

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Other cases on “Poverty law, constitutional”

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Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

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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