Linda J. Blessing, Director, Arizona Department of Economic Security v. Cathy Freestone, Etc., et al.

Decided April 21, 1997. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 95-1441 · 520 U.S. 329 (1997) · Cited 1,415 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.

• Wilder v. Virginia Hospital Assn. · 496 U.S. 498 (1990)
• Wright v. City of Roanoke Redevelopment & Housing Authority · 479 U.S. 418 (1987)
• Smith v. Robinson · 468 U.S. 992 (1984)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Livadas v. Bradshaw · 512 U.S. 107 (1994)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Suter v. Artist M. · 503 U.S. 347 (1992)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles · 493 U.S. 103 (1989)

Cited by

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

• Gonzaga University v. Doe · 536 U.S. 273 (2002)
• City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams · 544 U.S. 113 (2005)
• Heffernan v. City of Paterson · 578 U.S. 266 (2016)
• Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic · 606 U.S. 357 (2025)
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. Walsh, Acting Commissioner, Maine Department of Human Services · 538 U.S. 644 (2003)
• Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion Cty. v. Talevski · 599 U.S. 166 (2023)
• Bragdon v. Abbott · 524 U.S. 624 (1998)
• Chavez v. Martinez · 538 U.S. 760 (2003)
• Domino's Pizza, Inc. v. McDonald · 546 U.S. 470 (2006)
• Lopez v. Davis · 531 U.S. 230 (2001)
• Vega v. Tekoh · 597 U.S. 134 (2022)
• Nguyen v. United States · 539 U.S. 69 (2003)

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).