Heckler, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Chaney et al.

Decided March 20, 1985. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-1878 · 470 U.S. 821 (1985) · Cited 2,484 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“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.

• Dunlop v. Bachowski · 421 U.S. 560 (1975)
• United States v. Nixon · 418 U.S. 683 (1974)
• Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner · 387 U.S. 136 (1967)
• Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe · 401 U.S. 402 (1971)
• Confiscation Cases · 74 U.S. 454 (1869)
• United States v. Batchelder · 442 U.S. 114 (1979)
• Vaca v. Sipes · 386 U.S. 171 (1967)
• Bordenkircher v. Hayes · 434 U.S. 357 (1978)
• Marshall v. Jerrico, Inc. · 446 U.S. 238 (1980)
• Rochester Telephone Corp. v. United States · 307 U.S. 125 (1939)
• Southern Railway Co. v. Seaboard Allied Milling Corp. · 442 U.S. 444 (1979)
• Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Assn. of United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. · 463 U.S. 29 (1983)
• Gregg v. Georgia · 428 U.S. 153 (1976)
• Santobello v. New York · 404 U.S. 257 (1971)
• Blackledge v. Allison · 431 U.S. 63 (1977)
• Yick Wo v. Hopkins · 118 U.S. 356 (1886)
• Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co. · 455 U.S. 422 (1982)
• Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 435 U.S. 519 (1978)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. · 421 U.S. 132 (1975)
• Linda R. S. v. Richard D. · 410 U.S. 614 (1973)
• Blackledge v. Perry · 417 U.S. 21 (1974)
• Johnson v. Robison · 415 U.S. 361 (1974)
• United States v. Menasche · 348 U.S. 528 (1955)
• Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Curran · 456 U.S. 353 (1982)
• Train v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 421 U.S. 60 (1975)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Klesner · 280 U.S. 19 (1929)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Medical Committee for Human Rights · 404 U.S. 403 (1972)
• United States v. Wunderlich · 342 U.S. 98 (1951)
• Thigpen v. Roberts · 468 U.S. 27 (1984)
• Moog Industries, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission · 355 U.S. 411 (1958)

Cited by

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

• Department of Commerce v. New York · 588 U.S. 752 (2019)
• Webster v. Doe · 486 U.S. 592 (1988)
• Lincoln v. Vigil · 508 U.S. 182 (1993)
• United States v. Texas · 599 U.S. 670 (2023)
• Interstate Commerce Commission v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers · 482 U.S. 270 (1987)
• Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency · 549 U.S. 497 (2007)
• Kisor v. Wilkie · 588 U.S. 558 (2019)
• Federal Election Commission v. Akins · 524 U.S. 11 (1998)
• MacH Mining, LLC v. Equal Emp't Opportunity Comm'n · 575 U.S. 480 (2015)
• Weyerhaeuser Co. v. United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. · 586 U.S. 9 (2018)
• Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas · 495 U.S. 149 (1990)
• Morrison v. Olson · 487 U.S. 654 (1988)
• Franklin v. Massachusetts · 505 U.S. 788 (1992)
• Young v. United States Ex Rel. Vuitton Et Fils S. A. · 481 U.S. 787 (1987)
• Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists · 476 U.S. 747 (1986)
• Hinck v. United States · 550 U.S. 501 (2007)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Doherty · 502 U.S. 314 (1992)
• United States v. Armstrong · 517 U.S. 456 (1996)
• Thomas v. Union Carbide Agricultural Products Co. · 473 U.S. 568 (1985)
• Board of Pardons v. Allen · 482 U.S. 369 (1987)
• United States v. Albertini · 472 U.S. 675 (1985)
• Christopher v. Smithkline Beecham Corp. · 567 U.S. 142 (2012)
• Jean v. Nelson · 472 U.S. 846 (1985)
• Bowen v. American Hospital Assn. · 476 U.S. 610 (1986)
• United States v. Fior D'Italia, Inc. · 536 U.S. 238 (2002)
• Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast, Inc. v. United Distribution Cos. · 498 U.S. 211 (1991)
• Cuyahoga Valley Railway Co. v. United Transportation Union · 474 U.S. 3 (1985)
• Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer · 601 U.S. 1 (2023)
• Trump v. United States · 603 U.S. 593 (2024)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).