Zablocki v. Redhail

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Oral Argument
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Advocates
Ward L. Johnson Jr. (argued the cause for the appellant)
Robert H. Blondis (argued the cause for the appellee)
Case Basics
Docket No.: 
76-879
Appellant: 
Roger C. Redhail
Appellee: 
Thomas E. Zablocki
Decided By: 
Burger Court (1975-1981)
Opinion: 
434 U.S. 374 (1978)

Cite this page
The Oyez Project, Zablocki v. Redhail , 434 U.S. 374 (1978)
available at: (http://oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1977/1977_76_879)
Facts of the Case: 

Roger C. Redhail, a Wisconsin minor, fathered a child. A court ordered him to pay child support. Two years later, he applied for a marriage license in Milwaukee County. His application was denied by County Clerk Thomas E. Zablocki who declined to issue the license under a state statute on the ground that Redhail owed more than $3,700 in child support.. Redhail filed a class action in federal district court against Zablocki and all Wisconsin county clerks. The court ruled in Redhail's favor. Zablocki appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

Question: 

Did the Wisconsin statute violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Conclusion: 

Yes. In an 8-1 decision, the Court held that Wisconsin's statute violated the Equal Protection Clause and reaffirmed that marriage was a fundamental right. In the majority opinion authored by Justice Thurgood Marshall, the Court emphasized marriage as part of the right to privacy found in the Fourteenth Amendment as identified in Griswold v. Connecticut. While the state has an interest in ensuring that child support obligations were fulfilled, this statute only regulated those who wished to be married and did not justify the restriction on the right to marriage as found in Loving v. Virginia.

Decisions

Decision: 8 votes for Redhail, 1 vote(s) against
Legal provision: Equal Protection

Sort by Ideology

Wrote a regular concurrence
Burger
Voted with the majority
Brennan
Wrote a special concurrence
Stewart
Voted with the majority
White
Wrote the majority opinion
Marshall
Voted with the majority
Blackmun
Wrote a special concurrence
Powell
Wrote a dissent
Rehnquist
Wrote a special concurrence
Stevens

Full Opinion by Justice Thurgood Marshall