Deshaney, a Minor, by His Guardian Ad Litem, et al. v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services et al.

Decided February 22, 1989. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-154 · 489 U.S. 189 (1989) · Cited 4,564 times

Holding

Respondents' failure to provide petitioner with adequate protection against his father's violence did not violate his rights under the substantive component of the Due Process Clause.

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 6–3.

“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.

• Youngberg v. Romeo Ex Rel. Romeo · 457 U.S. 307 (1982)
• Estelle v. Gamble · 429 U.S. 97 (1976)
• Daniels v. Williams · 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
• Davidson v. Cannon · 474 U.S. 344 (1986)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Parratt v. Taylor · 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
• Whitley v. Albers · 475 U.S. 312 (1986)
• Boddie v. Connecticut · 401 U.S. 371 (1971)
• Martinez v. California · 444 U.S. 277 (1980)
• Ingraham v. Wright · 430 U.S. 651 (1977)
• Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority · 365 U.S. 715 (1961)
• Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington) · 308 U.S. 147 (1939)
• City of Revere v. Massachusetts General Hospital · 463 U.S. 239 (1983)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• Anderson v. Creighton · 483 U.S. 635 (1987)
• Bell v. Wolfish · 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
• Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
• Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
• Baker v. McCollan · 443 U.S. 137 (1979)
• Paul v. Davis · 424 U.S. 693 (1976)
• Yick Wo v. Hopkins · 118 U.S. 356 (1886)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Hughes v. Rowe · 449 U.S. 5 (1980)
• Rochin v. California · 342 U.S. 165 (1952)
• Goss v. Lopez · 419 U.S. 565 (1975)
• Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. · 272 U.S. 365 (1926)
• Robinson v. California · 370 U.S. 660 (1962)
• Haguer v. Committee for Industrial Organization · 307 U.S. 496 (1939)

Cited by

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

• Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales · 545 U.S. 748 (2005)
• County of Sacramento v. Lewis · 523 U.S. 833 (1998)
• Farmer v. Brennan · 511 U.S. 825 (1994)
• Helling v. McKinney · 509 U.S. 25 (1993)
• Collins v. City of Harker Heights · 503 U.S. 115 (1992)
• Obergefell v. Hodges · 576 U.S. 644 (2015)
• United States v. Lanier · 520 U.S. 259 (1997)
• Reno v. Flores · 507 U.S. 292 (1993)
• Wilson v. Seiter · 501 U.S. 294 (1991)
• Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton · 515 U.S. 646 (1995)
• Rust v. Sullivan · 500 U.S. 173 (1991)
• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services · 492 U.S. 490 (1989)
• Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health · 497 U.S. 502 (1990)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1989). 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).