Santosky et al. v. Kramer, Commissioner, Ulster County Department of Social Services, et al.

Decided March 24, 1982. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 80-5889 · 455 U.S. 745 (1982) · Cited 9,761 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 5–4.

“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.

• Addington v. Texas · 441 U.S. 418 (1979)
• Mathews v. Eldridge · 424 U.S. 319 (1976)
• Lassiter v. Department of Social Servs. of Durham Cty. · 452 U.S. 18 (1981)
• In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
• Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform · 431 U.S. 816 (1977)
• Woodby v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 385 U.S. 276 (1966)
• Stanley v. Illinois · 405 U.S. 645 (1972)
• Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex · 442 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Prince v. Massachusetts · 321 U.S. 158 (1944)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
• Meyer v. Nebraska · 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
• Cafeteria & Restaurant Workers Union, Local 473 v. McElroy · 367 U.S. 886 (1961)
• Quilloin v. Walcott · 434 U.S. 246 (1978)
• Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
• Ingraham v. Wright · 430 U.S. 651 (1977)
• Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath · 341 U.S. 123 (1951)
• Moore v. City of East Cleveland · 431 U.S. 494 (1977)
• Vitek v. Jones · 445 U.S. 480 (1980)
• Moore v. Sims · 442 U.S. 415 (1979)
• Ginsberg v. New York · 390 U.S. 629 (1968)
• Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur · 414 U.S. 632 (1974)
• Schneiderman v. United States · 320 U.S. 118 (1943)
• New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann · 285 U.S. 262 (1932)
• United States v. Yazell · 382 U.S. 341 (1966)
• Little v. Streater · 452 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Co. v. May · 194 U.S. 267 (1904)
• Chaunt v. United States · 364 U.S. 350 (1960)
• Murel v. Baltimore City Criminal Court · 407 U.S. 355 (1972)

Cited by

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

• Bowen v. Gilliard · 483 U.S. 587 (1987)
• Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl · 570 U.S. 637 (2013)
• Troxel v. Granville · 530 U.S. 57 (2000)
• Cruzan Ex Rel. Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health · 497 U.S. 261 (1990)
• Schall v. Martin · 467 U.S. 253 (1984)
• Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health · 497 U.S. 502 (1990)
• Reno v. Flores · 507 U.S. 292 (1993)
• Medina v. California · 505 U.S. 437 (1992)
• Hodgson v. Minnesota · 497 U.S. 417 (1990)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• Nix v. Williams · 467 U.S. 431 (1984)
• Boyde v. California · 494 U.S. 370 (1990)
• McMillan v. Pennsylvania · 477 U.S. 79 (1986)
• Herman & MacLean v. Huddleston · 459 U.S. 375 (1983)
• Pacific Mutual Life Insurance v. Haslip · 499 U.S. 1 (1991)
• Lehr v. Robertson · 463 U.S. 248 (1983)
• Cooper v. Oklahoma · 517 U.S. 348 (1996)
• Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. Partnership · 564 U.S. 91 (2011)
• Block v. Rutherford · 468 U.S. 576 (1984)
• Jones v. United States · 463 U.S. 354 (1983)
• Lehman Ex Rel. Lehman v. Lycoming County Children's Services Agency · 458 U.S. 502 (1982)
• E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera · 604 U.S. 45 (2025)

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).