Trainor, Director, Illinois Department of Public Aid, et al. v. Hernandez et Ux.

Decided May 31, 1977. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-1407 · 431 U.S. 434 (1977) · Cited 606 times

Holding

The District Court should have dismissed appellees' complaint under Younger, supra, and Huffman, supra, unless their state remedies were inadequate to litigate their federal due process claim, since the injunction asked for and issued by the court interfered with Illinois' efforts to utilize the Attachment Act as an integral part of the State's enforcement action.

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 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.

• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Watson v. Buck · 313 U.S. 387 (1941)
• Juidice v. Vail · 430 U.S. 327 (1977)
• Huffman v. Pursue, Ltd. · 420 U.S. 592 (1975)
• Fuentes v. Shevin · 407 U.S. 67 (1972)
• Steffel v. Thompson · 415 U.S. 452 (1974)
• Mitchell v. W. T. Grant Co. · 416 U.S. 600 (1974)
• Kugler v. Helfant · 421 U.S. 117 (1975)
• SAMUELS Et Al. v. MACKELL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF QUEENS COUNTY, Et Al. · 401 U.S. 66 (1971)
• North Georgia Finishing, Inc. v. Di-Chem, Inc. · 419 U.S. 601 (1975)
• Mitchum v. Foster · 407 U.S. 225 (1972)
• Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. v. Huffman · 319 U.S. 293 (1943)
• Fenner v. Boykin · 271 U.S. 240 (1926)
• Gerstein v. Pugh · 420 U.S. 103 (1975)
• Gibson v. Berryhill · 411 U.S. 564 (1973)
• Perez v. Ledesma · 401 U.S. 82 (1971)
• Lynch v. Household Finance Corp. · 405 U.S. 538 (1972)
• Shaffer v. Carter · 252 U.S. 37 (1920)
• Township of Hillsborough v. Cromwell · 326 U.S. 620 (1946)
• Beal v. Missouri Pacific R. Corp. · 312 U.S. 45 (1941)
• Burford v. Sun Oil Co. · 319 U.S. 315 (1943)
• Brillhart v. Excess Insurance Co. of America · 316 U.S. 491 (1942)
• Sniadach v. Family Finance Corp. of Bay View · 395 U.S. 337 (1969)
• County of Allegheny v. Frank Mashuda Co. · 360 U.S. 185 (1959)
• Spector Motor Service, Inc. v. McLaughlin · 323 U.S. 101 (1944)
• Alabama Public Service Commission v. Southern Railway Co. · 341 U.S. 341 (1951)
• Matthews v. Rodgers · 284 U.S. 521 (1932)
• Scott v. Neely · 140 U.S. 106 (1891)
• Spielman Motor Sales Co. v. Dodge · 295 U.S. 89 (1935)
• Pennsylvania v. Williams · 294 U.S. 176 (1935)

Cited by

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

• Moore v. Sims · 442 U.S. 415 (1979)
• Burt v. Titlow · 571 U.S. 12 (2013)
• Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco Inc. · 481 U.S. 1 (1987)
• Davis v. Passman · 442 U.S. 228 (1979)
• New Orleans Public Service, Inc. v. Council of City of New Orleans · 491 U.S. 350 (1989)
• Montana v. United States · 440 U.S. 147 (1979)
• Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Ass'n · 457 U.S. 423 (1982)
• Patsy v. Board of Regents of Fla. · 457 U.S. 496 (1982)
• Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. · 504 U.S. 374 (1992)
• Ohio Civil Rights Commission v. Dayton Christian Schools, Inc. · 477 U.S. 619 (1986)
• Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Webb v. County Board of Education · 471 U.S. 234 (1985)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1977). 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).