Otis R. Bowen, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Mary Alice Galbreath
Decided February 24, 1988. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 86-1146 · 485 U.S. 74 (1988) · Cited 109 times
Holding
A district court does not have the authority to order the Secretary to withhold a portion of past-due SSI benefits for the payment of attorney's fees received in judicial proceedings under Title XVI.
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 8–0.
Majority · 8
“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.
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Culbertson v. Berryhill · 586 U.S. 53 (2019)
- Smith v. Berryhill · 587 U.S. 471 (2019)
- Gisbrecht v. Barnhart · 535 U.S. 789 (2002)
- Becerra v. Empire Health Foundation, For Valley Hospital Medical Center · 597 U.S. 424 (2022)
- Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Kennedy · 605 U.S. 1 (2025)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1988). 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).