Batterton, Secretary, Department of Human Resources of Maryland, et al. v. Francis et al.

Decided June 20, 1977. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-1181 · 432 U.S. 416 (1977) · Cited 693 times

Holding

The regulation is a proper exercise of the Secretary's statutory authority and is reasonable.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Philbrook v. Glodgett · 421 U.S. 707 (1975)
• King v. Smith · 392 U.S. 309 (1968)
• Ohio Bureau of Employment Services v. Hodory · 431 U.S. 471 (1977)
• Social Security Board v. Nierotko · 327 U.S. 358 (1946)
• Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe · 401 U.S. 402 (1971)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• Camp v. Pitts · 411 U.S. 138 (1973)
• Morton v. Ruiz · 415 U.S. 199 (1974)
• General Electric Co. v. Gilbert · 429 U.S. 125 (1976)
• New York State Department of Social Services v. Dublino · 413 U.S. 405 (1973)
• Shea v. Vialpando · 416 U.S. 251 (1974)
• Burns v. Alcala · 420 U.S. 575 (1975)
• American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. United States · 299 U.S. 232 (1936)
• Carleson v. Remillard · 406 U.S. 598 (1972)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• New York Telephone Co. v. New York State Department of Labor · 440 U.S. 519 (1979)
• Schweiker v. Gray Panthers · 453 U.S. 34 (1981)
• Califano v. Westcott · 443 U.S. 76 (1979)
• Herweg v. Ray · 455 U.S. 265 (1982)
• Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services v. Blumer · 534 U.S. 473 (2002)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha · 462 U.S. 919 (1983)
• Chrysler Corp. v. Brown · 441 U.S. 281 (1979)
• Azar v. Allina Health Services · 587 U.S. 566 (2019)
• Atkins v. Rivera · 477 U.S. 154 (1986)
• Martin v. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission · 499 U.S. 144 (1991)
• Guardians Assn. v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of New York City · 463 U.S. 582 (1983)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Heckler v. Campbell · 461 U.S. 458 (1983)
• Alessi v. Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc. · 451 U.S. 504 (1981)
• Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
• Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. · 535 U.S. 81 (2002)
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms v. Federal Labor Relations Authority · 464 U.S. 89 (1983)
• United States v. Morton · 467 U.S. 822 (1984)
• United States v. O'Hagan · 521 U.S. 642 (1997)
• Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo · 603 U.S. 369 (2024)
• Rowan Cos. v. United States · 452 U.S. 247 (1981)
• Sullivan v. Everhart · 494 U.S. 83 (1990)
• Heckler v. Day · 467 U.S. 104 (1984)
• Quern v. Mandley · 436 U.S. 725 (1978)
• United States v. Clark · 445 U.S. 23 (1980)
• PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton Harris Chiropractic, Inc. · 588 U.S. 1 (2019)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1977). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).