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Stanton v. Stanton, 421 U.S. 7 (1975)
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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.
Stanton v. Stanton, 421 U.S. 7 (1975)
Stanton v. Stanton No. 73-1461 Argued February 19, 1975 Decided April 15, 1975 421 U.S. 7
APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF UTAH
Syllabus
When appellant wife and appellee husband were divorced in Utah in 1960, the decree, incorporating the parties’ stipulation, ordered appellee to make monthly payments to appellant for the support of the parties’ children, a daughter, then age seven, and a son, then age five. Subsequently, when the daughter became 18, appellee discontinued payments for her support, and the divorce court, pursuant to a Utah statute which provides that the period of minority for males extends to age 21 and for females to age 18, denied appellant’s motion for support of the daughter for the period after she attained 18. On appeal the Utah Supreme Court affirmed, rejecting appellant’s contention, inter alia, that the statute violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Held:
1. The support issue is not rendered moot by the fact that appellant and the daughter are now both over 21, since, if appellee is obligated by the divorce decree to support the daughter between ages 18 and 21, there is an amount past due and owing. Nor does appellant lack standing because she is not of the age group affected by the statute; another statute obligates her to support the daughter to age 21. Pp. 11-12.
2. In the context of child support, the classification effectuated by the challenged statute denies the equal protection of the laws, as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71. Notwithstanding the "old notions" cited by the state court, that it is the man’s primary responsibility to provide a home, that it is salutary for him to have education and training before he assumes that responsibility, and that females tend to mature and marry earlier than males, there is nothing rational in the statutory distinction between males and females which, when related to the divorce decree, results in appellee’s liability for support for the daughter only to age 18, but for the son to age 21, thus imposing "criteria wholly unrelated to the objective of that statute." Pp. 13-17.
30 Utah 2d 315, 517 P.2d 1010, reversed and remanded.
BLACKMUN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and DOUGLAB, BRENNAN, STEWART, WHITE, MARSHALL, and POWELL, JJ., joined. REHNQUIST, J., filed a dissenting opinion, post, p. 18.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Stanton v. Stanton, 421 U.S. 7 (1975) in 421 U.S. 7 421 U.S. 8. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=MVZDRIRALX9IVJ1.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Stanton v. Stanton, 421 U.S. 7 (1975), in 421 U.S. 7, page 421 U.S. 8. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=MVZDRIRALX9IVJ1.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Stanton v. Stanton, 421 U.S. 7 (1975). cited in 1975, 421 U.S. 7, pp.421 U.S. 8. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=MVZDRIRALX9IVJ1.
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