King, Commissioner, Department of Pensions and Security, et al. v. Smith et al.

Decided June 17, 1968. Earl Warren delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 949 · 392 U.S. 309 (1968) · Cited 1,272 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.

• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• McNeese v. Board of Education for Community Unit School District 187 Cahokia · 373 U.S. 668 (1963)
• Levy v. Louisiana Ex Rel. Charity Hospital · 391 U.S. 68 (1968)
• Alabama Public Service Commission v. Southern Railway Co. · 341 U.S. 341 (1951)
• Power Reactor Development Co. v. International Union of Electrical, Radio & MacHine Workers · 367 U.S. 396 (1961)
• Glona v. American Guarantee & Liability Insurance · 391 U.S. 73 (1968)
• Harmon v. Brucker · 355 U.S. 579 (1958)
• Damico v. California · 389 U.S. 416 (1967)
• Oklahoma v. United States Civil Service Commission · 330 U.S. 127 (1947)
• Ivanhoe Irrigation District v. McCracken · 357 U.S. 275 (1958)
• Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Jacobsen · 362 U.S. 73 (1960)
• Allen v. Grand Central Aircraft Co. · 347 U.S. 535 (1954)

Cited by

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

• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• Rosado v. Wyman · 397 U.S. 397 (1970)
• Lewis v. Martin · 397 U.S. 552 (1970)
• Van Lare v. Hurley · 421 U.S. 338 (1975)
• New York State Department of Social Services v. Dublino · 413 U.S. 405 (1973)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Hagans v. Lavine · 415 U.S. 528 (1974)
• Carleson v. Remillard · 406 U.S. 598 (1972)
• Jefferson v. Hackney · 406 U.S. 535 (1972)
• Townsend v. Swank · 404 U.S. 282 (1971)
• Quern v. Mandley · 436 U.S. 725 (1978)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Shea v. Vialpando · 416 U.S. 251 (1974)
• Heckler v. Turner · 470 U.S. 184 (1985)
• Chapman v. Houston Welfare Rights Organization · 441 U.S. 600 (1979)
• Preiser v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 475 (1973)
• Graham v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 365 (1971)
• Batterton v. Francis · 432 U.S. 416 (1977)
• Wyman v. James · 400 U.S. 309 (1971)
• Burns v. Alcala · 420 U.S. 575 (1975)
• Miller v. Youakim · 440 U.S. 125 (1979)
• Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
• Ashe v. Swenson · 397 U.S. 436 (1970)
• Shapiro v. Thompson · 394 U.S. 618 (1969)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Patsy v. Board of Regents of Fla. · 457 U.S. 496 (1982)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Gibson v. Berryhill · 411 U.S. 564 (1973)
• Lake Country Estates, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 440 U.S. 391 (1979)

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).