Marshall v. United States

Decided January 9, 1974. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 72-5881 · 414 U.S. 417 (1974) · Cited 293 times

Holding

Title II of NARA does not deny due process or equal protection by excluding from rehabilitative commitment, in lieu of penal incarceration, addicts with two or more prior felony convictions, since Congress could rationally assume that an addict with a multiple-felony record is likely to benefit less from rehabilitative treatment, present a possible impediment to the successful treatment of others, and be a greater threat to society upon release, because of that record.

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.

• Powell v. Texas · 392 U.S. 514 (1968)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc. · 348 U.S. 483 (1955)
• Baxstrom v. Herold · 383 U.S. 107 (1966)
• McGinnis v. Royster · 410 U.S. 263 (1973)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Bolling v. Sharpe · 347 U.S. 497 (1954)
• Robinson v. California · 370 U.S. 660 (1962)
• Vlandis v. Kline · 412 U.S. 441 (1973)
• Humphrey v. Cady · 405 U.S. 504 (1972)
• Rinaldi v. Yeager · 384 U.S. 305 (1966)
• Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. New York · 336 U.S. 106 (1949)
• Richardson v. Belcher · 404 U.S. 78 (1971)
• Jefferson v. Hackney · 406 U.S. 535 (1972)
• James v. Strange · 407 U.S. 128 (1972)

Cited by

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

• Gonzales v. Carhart · 550 U.S. 124 (2007)
• Lewis v. United States · 445 U.S. 55 (1980)
• Jones v. United States · 463 U.S. 354 (1983)
• New York City Transit Authority v. Beazer · 440 U.S. 568 (1979)
• Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia · 427 U.S. 307 (1976)
• Stenberg v. Carhart · 530 U.S. 914 (2000)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
• United States v. Skrmetti · 605 U.S. 495 (2025)

Official text

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

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Warren Earl Burger’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1974). 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).