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

Decided March 5, 1984. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 82-1050 · 465 U.S. 728 (1984) · Cited 473 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.

• Califano v. Goldfarb · 430 U.S. 199 (1977)
• Califano v. Westcott · 443 U.S. 76 (1979)
• Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
• Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan · 458 U.S. 718 (1982)
• Wengler v. Druggists Mutual Insurance · 446 U.S. 142 (1980)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Linda R. S. v. Richard D. · 410 U.S. 614 (1973)
• Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood · 441 U.S. 91 (1979)
• Frontiero v. Richardson · 411 U.S. 677 (1973)
• Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld · 420 U.S. 636 (1975)
• Trafficante v. Metropolitan Life Insurance · 409 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Welsh v. United States · 398 U.S. 333 (1970)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Catholic Bishop · 440 U.S. 490 (1979)
• Norwood v. Harrison · 413 U.S. 455 (1973)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Carey v. Piphus · 435 U.S. 247 (1978)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. · 458 U.S. 50 (1982)
• Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson · 404 U.S. 97 (1971)
• Personnel Administrator of Mass. v. Feeney · 442 U.S. 256 (1979)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman · 455 U.S. 363 (1982)
• United States v. Batchelder · 442 U.S. 114 (1979)
• Bob Jones University v. United States · 461 U.S. 574 (1983)
• Griffin v. School Bd. of Prince Edward Cty. · 377 U.S. 218 (1964)
• City of Los Angeles Department of Water v. Manhart · 435 U.S. 702 (1978)
• Orr v. Orr · 440 U.S. 268 (1979)
• Aptheker v. Secretary of State · 378 U.S. 500 (1964)
• Scales v. United States · 367 U.S. 203 (1961)

Cited by

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

• Allen v. Wright · 468 U.S. 737 (1984)
• Sessions v. Morales-Santana · 582 U.S. 47 (2017)
• Thole v. U. S. Bank N. A. · 590 U.S. 538 (2020)
• United States v. Virginia · 518 U.S. 515 (1996)
• Barr v. American Assn. of Political Consultants, Inc. · 591 U.S. 610 (2020)
• United States Trustee v. John Q. Hammons Fall 2006, LLC · 602 U.S. 487 (2024)
• United States v. Booker · 543 U.S. 220 (2005)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Nordlinger v. Hahn · 505 U.S. 1 (1992)
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Schor · 478 U.S. 833 (1986)
• Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
• Eldred v. Ashcroft · 537 U.S. 186 (2003)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Davis v. Michigan Department of the Treasury · 489 U.S. 803 (1989)
• Salinas v. United States · 522 U.S. 52 (1997)
• United States v. Hays · 515 U.S. 737 (1995)
• United States v. Locke · 471 U.S. 84 (1985)
• United States v. Albertini · 472 U.S. 675 (1985)
• Regan v. Time, Inc. · 468 U.S. 641 (1984)
• Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 497 U.S. 547 (1990)
• Miller v. Albright · 523 U.S. 420 (1998)

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).