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Norton v. Mathews, 427 U.S. 524 (1976)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Norton v. Mathews, 427 U.S. 524 (1976)
Norton v. Mathews No. 74-6212 Argued January 13, 1976 Decided June 29, 1976 427 U.S. 524
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
Syllabus
The Social Security Act provides child survivor benefits only to a child who was "dependent" upon the deceased insured parent at the time of the parent’s death. Appellant illegitimate child, who did not come under any of the statutory presumptions of dependency to which legitimate children and illegitimate children under some circumstances are entitled under the Act, could establish his status as a dependent child only by showing that his father lived with him or was contributing to his support at the time of death. Appellant was administratively denied benefits because he could not make such a showing, his father having been killed in military service and never having assumed support. After this denial was upheld on administrative appeal, a class action was brought on appellant’s behalf against appellee Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, seeking relief against denial of the benefits and claiming, inter alia, that, by creating a presumption of dependency, and consequent qualification for benefits, for legitimate children generally, and for illegitimate children under certain circumstances, but denying the presumption to appellant and others similarly situated, the Act discriminated against appellant’s class in violation of the equal protection guarantee implicit in the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Ultimately, a three-judge District Court, convened when classwide injunctive relief was requested against the allegedly unconstitutional operation of the Act’s presumptions of dependency, ruled in appellee’s favor on the merits of the constitutional claim and granted summary judgment in his favor.
Held: Since the decision in Mathews v. Lucas, ante p. 495, renders the merits of the present case a decided issue in favor of appellee and thus one no longer substantial in the jurisdictional sense, it is unnecessary to decide the jurisdictional question presented as to whether a three-judge court was properly convened upon appellant’s demand for injunctive relief, and hence whether this Court had jurisdiction over the direct appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1253. Pp. 528-533.
390 F.Supp. 1084, affirmed.
BLACKMUN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and STEWART, WHITE, POWELL, and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined. STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BRENNAN and MARSHALL, JJ., joined, post, p. 533.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Norton v. Mathews, 427 U.S. 524 (1976) in 427 U.S. 524 427 U.S. 525. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=MMANJCJE2IRDDBJ.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Norton v. Mathews, 427 U.S. 524 (1976), in 427 U.S. 524, page 427 U.S. 525. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=MMANJCJE2IRDDBJ.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Norton v. Mathews, 427 U.S. 524 (1976). cited in 1976, 427 U.S. 524, pp.427 U.S. 525. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=MMANJCJE2IRDDBJ.
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