United States Department of Agriculture et al. v. Moreno et al.

Decided June 25, 1973. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 72-534 · 413 U.S. 528 (1973) · Cited 871 times

Holding

The legislative classification here involved cannot be sustained, the classification being clearly irrelevant to the stated purposes of the Act and not rationally furthering any other legitimate governmental interest.

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 7–2.

“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.

• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• Shapiro v. Thompson · 394 U.S. 618 (1969)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Bolling v. Sharpe · 347 U.S. 497 (1954)
• Eisenstadt v. Baird · 405 U.S. 438 (1972)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Dunn v. Blumstein · 405 U.S. 330 (1972)
• Reed v. Reed · 404 U.S. 71 (1971)
• Stanley v. Georgia · 394 U.S. 557 (1969)
• Frontiero v. Richardson · 411 U.S. 677 (1973)
• Mourning v. Family Publications Service, Inc. · 411 U.S. 356 (1973)
• De Jonge v. Oregon · 299 U.S. 353 (1937)
• Weber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. · 406 U.S. 164 (1972)
• Richardson v. Belcher · 404 U.S. 78 (1971)
• Jefferson v. Hackney · 406 U.S. 535 (1972)
• Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee · 372 U.S. 539 (1963)
• Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Virginia Ex Rel. Virginia State Bar · 377 U.S. 1 (1964)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Flowers · 377 U.S. 288 (1964)
• Schneider v. Rusk · 377 U.S. 163 (1964)

Cited by

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

• Lyng v. Castillo · 477 U.S. 635 (1986)
• Lyng v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers · 485 U.S. 360 (1988)
• Lawrence v. Texas · 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
• United States v. Windsor · 570 U.S. 744 (2013)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Sessions v. Morales-Santana · 582 U.S. 47 (2017)
• Barr v. American Assn. of Political Consultants, Inc. · 591 U.S. 610 (2020)
• Romer v. Evans · 517 U.S. 620 (1996)
• United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz · 449 U.S. 166 (1980)
• Batson v. Kentucky · 476 U.S. 79 (1986)
• Weinberger v. Salfi · 422 U.S. 749 (1975)
• Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett · 531 U.S. 356 (2001)
• Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia · 427 U.S. 307 (1976)
• Moore v. City of East Cleveland · 431 U.S. 494 (1977)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Mathews v. Diaz · 426 U.S. 67 (1976)
• O'Connor v. Donaldson · 422 U.S. 563 (1975)
• City of Mesquite v. Aladdin's Castle, Inc. · 455 U.S. 283 (1982)
• Johnson v. Robison · 415 U.S. 361 (1974)
• Bowers v. Hardwick · 478 U.S. 186 (1986)
• Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld · 420 U.S. 636 (1975)
• Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. O'Neill · 499 U.S. 65 (1991)
• Memorial Hospital v. Maricopa County · 415 U.S. 250 (1974)
• Schweiker v. Wilson · 450 U.S. 221 (1981)
• New York City Transit Authority v. Beazer · 440 U.S. 568 (1979)
• Trump v. Hawaii · 585 U.S. 667 (2018)
• Mathews v. Lucas · 427 U.S. 495 (1976)
• Kelo v. City of New London · 545 U.S. 469 (2005)
• Estelle v. Dorrough · 420 U.S. 534 (1975)
• Califano v. Westcott · 443 U.S. 76 (1979)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1973). 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).