Rose v. Rose et al.
Decided May 18, 1987. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 85-1206 · 481 U.S. 619 (1987) · Cited 321 times
Holding
A state court has jurisdiction to hold a disabled veteran in contempt for failing to pay child support, even if the veteran's only means of satisfying this obligation is to utilize veterans' benefits received as compensation for a service-connected disability.
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 8–1.
Majority · 5
- Thurgood Marshall · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Concurring · 3
- Antonin Scalia · filed a concurring opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Sandra Day O'Connor · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 1
- Byron Raymond White · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Ridgway v. Ridgway · 454 U.S. 46 (1981)
- Wissner v. Wissner · 338 U.S. 655 (1950)
- Hisquierdo v. Hisquierdo · 439 U.S. 572 (1979)
- McCarty v. McCarty · 453 U.S. 210 (1981)
- Johnson v. Robison · 415 U.S. 361 (1974)
- Lambert v. California · 355 U.S. 225 (1957)
- In Re Burrus · 136 U.S. 586 (1890)
- United States v. Yazell · 382 U.S. 341 (1966)
- Audubon v. Shufeldt · 181 U.S. 575 (1901)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Mansell v. Mansell · 490 U.S. 581 (1989)
- Boggs v. Boggs · 520 U.S. 833 (1997)
- Hillman v. Maretta · 569 U.S. 483 (2013)
- Bennett v. Arkansas · 485 U.S. 395 (1988)
- Howell v. Howell · 581 U.S. 214 (2017)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1987). 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).