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 (SCDB)
- Poverty law, constitutional
- 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
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz
SCDB identifiers: case 1980-013, docket 1980-013-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Poverty law, constitutional”
- Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services v. Florida Nursing Home Association
- Schweiker v. Wilson
- Harris v. Rosario
- Califano v. WestcottLaw held unconstitutional
- Schweiker v. Hogan
- Blum v. Yaretsky
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (equal protection)
- Califano v. Boles
- Davis v. Passman
- Vance v. Bradley
- Hobby v. United States
- United States v. Antelope
- Alexander v. Fioto
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Dennis v. Sparks
- Allen v. McCurry
- Delaware State College v. Ricks
- Fedorenko v. United States
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Associated Dry Goods Corp.
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Jong Ha Wang et Ux.
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