Caban v. Mohammed

Caban v. Mohammed
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 6, 1978
Decided April 24, 1979
Full case nameAbdiel Caban, Appellant, v. Kazim Mohammed and Maria Mohammed.
Docket no.77-6431
Citations441 U.S. 380 (more)
99 S. Ct. 1760; 60 L. Ed. 2d 297; 1979 U.S. LEXIS 92
Case history
PriorMatter of David A.C., 56 A.D.2d 627, 391 N.Y.S.2d 846 (App. Div. 2d Dept. 1977); appeal dismissed, 43 N.Y.2d 708, 401 N.Y.S.2d 208, 372 N.E.2d 42 (1977); probable jurisdiction noted, 436 U.S. 903 (1978).
Holding
The sex-based distinction in New York's Domestic Relations Law between unmarried mothers and unmarried fathers violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it bears no substantial relation to any important state interest.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
MajorityPowell, joined by Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun
DissentStewart
DissentStevens, joined by Burger, Rehnquist
Laws applied
Equal Protection Clause

Caban v. Mohammed, 441 U.S. 380 (1979), was a United States Supreme Court family law case which argued that a New York law, which allowed unwed mothers, but not unwed fathers, a veto over the adoption of that couple's children, was discriminatory.[1][2]

  1. ^ Caban v. Mohammed, 441 U.S. 380 (1979).
  2. ^ Hartman, Gary R.; Mersky, Roy M.; Tate, Cindy L. (January 1, 2009). Landmark Supreme Court Cases: The Most Influential Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States. Infobase Publishing. pp. 45–. ISBN 9781438110363. Retrieved December 29, 2012.