Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform

431 U.S. 816 · Decided June 13, 1977 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform was decided on June 13, 1977 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Due process, hearing or notice” in the Due Process 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

Smith, Administrator, New York City Human Resources Administration, et al. v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1976-131, docket 1976-131-01.

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

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Same Term, same area (Due Process)

• Moody v. Daggett
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  429 U.S. 245Decided January 10, 19779–0Per curiam
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  429 U.S. 624Decided February 22, 19775–4Per curiam
• Bounds v. Smith
  430 U.S. 817Decided April 27, 19776–3Thurgood Marshall
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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