Reed v. Reed

E17496

Reed v. Reed is a landmark 1971 U.S. Supreme Court case that for the first time struck down a law for discriminating on the basis of sex under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
equal protection case
landmark case
sex discrimination case
appliedStandardOfReview rational basis review
areaOfLaw civil rights
constitutional law
gender equality
argued 1971-10-19
1971-10-20
barredPractice automatic statutory preference for males over females in estate administration
category United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court
United States equal protection case law
United States gender discrimination case law
chiefJusticeAtDecision Warren E. Burger
citation 404 U.S. 71
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
country United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1971-11-22
decisionType per curiam-like majority opinion authored by the Chief Justice
fullCaseName Sally Reed v. Cecil Reed
holding A law that prefers men over women as estate administrators violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
Classifications based on sex must have a rational relationship to a legitimate state objective under the Equal Protection Clause
impact paved the way for heightened scrutiny of gender classifications
issue Whether a state statute that automatically prefers men over women as estate administrators violates equal protection
jurisdiction United States
languageOfOpinion English
lawChallenged Idaho probate code provision preferring men over women as estate administrators
legalDoctrine equal protection scrutiny of sex-based classifications
opinionOfTheCourtBy Warren E. Burger
originatingCourt Idaho Supreme Court
pageInUnitedStatesReports 71
petitioner Sally Reed
priorHistory Reed v. Reed, 93 Idaho 511, 465 P.2d 635 (1970)
rejectedJustification administrative convenience as a basis for sex-based classification
relatedCase Craig v. Boren
Frontiero v. Richardson
United States v. Virginia
respondent Cecil Reed
significance first United States Supreme Court case to strike down a law for sex discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause
stateOfOrigin Idaho
subjectMatter administration of a deceased minor son's estate
term 1971 term of the Supreme Court of the United States
unanimousDecision true
volumeOfUnitedStatesReports 404
yearDecided 1971

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Equal Protection Clause
basisFor
United States v. Virginia (1996) majority opinion
cites
Reed v. Reed ("Reed v. Reed, 93 Idaho 511, 465 P.2d 635 (1970)")
priorHistory
Frontiero v. Richardson
relatedCase

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