United States v. Vaello Madero
Decided April 21, 2022. Brett M. Kavanaugh delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 20-303 · 596 U.S. 159 (2022) · Cited 29 times
Holding
The Constitution does not require Congress to make Supplemental Security Income benefits available to residents of Puerto Rico.
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 · 8
- John G. Roberts, Jr.
- Clarence Thomas · filed a concurring opinion
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
- Elena Kagan
- Neil M. Gorsuch · filed a concurring opinion
- Brett M. Kavanaugh · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Amy Coney Barrett
- Stephen G. Breyer
Dissenting · 1
- Sonia Sotomayor · filed a dissenting opinion
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).
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.
- Downes v. Bidwell · 182 U.S. 244 (1901)
- Harris v. Rosario · 446 U.S. 651 (1980)
- Califano v. Torres · 435 U.S. 1 (1978)
- Bolling v. Sharpe · 347 U.S. 497 (1954)
- Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena · 515 U.S. 200 (1995)
- Plessy v. Ferguson · 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
- Balzac v. Porto Rico · 258 U.S. 298 (1922)
- McDonald v. City of Chicago · 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
- Civil Rights Cases · 109 U.S. 3 (1883)
- Obergefell v. Hodges · 576 U.S. 644 (2015)
- In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
- Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
- Johnson v. United States · 576 U.S. 591 (2015)
- Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
- Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
- Reynolds v. United States · 98 U.S. 145 (1879)
- Nordlinger v. Hahn · 505 U.S. 1 (1992)
- Pacific Mutual Life Insurance v. Haslip · 499 U.S. 1 (1991)
- United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
- Lochner v. New York · 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
- Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld · 420 U.S. 636 (1975)
- Hirabayashi v. United States · 320 U.S. 81 (1943)
- United States Department of Agriculture v. Moreno · 413 U.S. 528 (1973)
- Den Ex Dem. Murray v. Hoboken Land & Improvement Co. · 59 U.S. 272 (1856)
- Reid v. Covert · 354 U.S. 1 (1957)
- Schweiker v. Wilson · 450 U.S. 221 (1981)
- Schweiker v. Gray Panthers · 453 U.S. 34 (1981)
- Mathews v. Lucas · 427 U.S. 495 (1976)
- Thompson v. Utah · 170 U.S. 343 (1898)
- Buchanan v. Warley · 245 U.S. 60 (1916)
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2022). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).