Quern, Director, Department of Public Aid of Illinois v. Jordan

Decided March 5, 1979. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 77-841 · 440 U.S. 332 (1979) · Cited 4,123 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.

• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Hutto v. Finney · 437 U.S. 678 (1978)
• Alabama v. Pugh · 438 U.S. 781 (1978)
• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
• Employees of Department of Public Health v. Department of Public Health · 411 U.S. 279 (1973)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Department of Treasury · 323 U.S. 459 (1945)
• Osborn v. Bank of United States · 22 U.S. 738 (1824)
• Scheuer v. Rhodes · 416 U.S. 232 (1974)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 433 U.S. 267 (1977)
• Davis v. Gray · 83 U.S. 203 (1873)
• Tenney v. Brandhove · 341 U.S. 367 (1951)
• Mitchum v. Foster · 407 U.S. 225 (1972)
• Ex Parte Virginia · 100 U.S. 339 (1880)
• Virginia v. Rives · 100 U.S. 313 (1880)
• Philpott v. Essex County Welfare Board · 409 U.S. 413 (1973)
• Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin · 417 U.S. 156 (1974)
• Munn v. Illinois · 94 U.S. 113 (1877)
• Sprague v. Ticonic National Bank · 307 U.S. 161 (1939)
• City of Kenosha v. Bruno · 412 U.S. 507 (1973)
• Parden v. Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks Department · 377 U.S. 184 (1964)
• Great Northern Life Insurance Co. v. Read · 322 U.S. 47 (1944)
• McPherson v. Blacker · 146 U.S. 1 (1892)
• Van Brocklin v. Tennessee · 117 U.S. 151 (1886)
• Kennecott Copper Corp. v. State Tax Commission · 327 U.S. 573 (1946)
• Wells Fargo & Co. v. Taylor · 254 U.S. 175 (1920)
• US Bank v. PLANTERS'BANK · 22 U.S. 904 (1824)
• Pfizer Inc. v. Government of India · 434 U.S. 308 (1978)
• Ohio v. Helvering · 292 U.S. 360 (1934)

Cited by

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

• Green v. Mansour · 474 U.S. 64 (1985)
• Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
• Idaho v. Coeur D'Alene Tribe of Idaho · 521 U.S. 261 (1997)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 465 U.S. 89 (1984)
• Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• Ngiraingas v. Sanchez · 495 U.S. 182 (1990)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Howlett Ex Rel. Howlett v. Rose · 496 U.S. 356 (1990)
• Welch v. Texas Department of Highways & Public Transportation · 483 U.S. 468 (1987)
• Dellmuth v. Muth · 491 U.S. 223 (1989)
• Florida Department of State v. Treasure Salvors, Inc. · 458 U.S. 670 (1982)
• Kentucky v. Graham · 473 U.S. 159 (1985)
• Papasan v. Allain · 478 U.S. 265 (1986)
• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Patsy v. Board of Regents of Fla. · 457 U.S. 496 (1982)
• Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. v. Feeney · 495 U.S. 299 (1990)
• Salazar v. Buono · 559 U.S. 700 (2010)
• United States v. Hatter · 532 U.S. 557 (2001)

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).