''Stanton v. Stanton'', 421 U.S. 7 (1975), is a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case which struck down
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
's definitions of adulthood as a violation of
equal protection
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...
: females reached adulthood at 18; males at 21.
Background
The case had started in Utah state court.
A divorced father stopped paying child support for his daughter when she turned eighteen, so the daughter's mother went to court to ask for support until both the daughter and the son reached twenty-one.
Utah divorce court ruled against the mother, and the Utah Supreme Court held that there was a "reasonable basis" for the differential: women matured earlier and married younger; men had a greater need for education.
The Utah court stated in its opinion that the basis for the law, though an "old notion," was not unconstitutional.
Opinion
Justice Blackmun wrote for the majority.
He found a violation of
equal protection
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...
and said the law failed under any standard, including rational basis (the Supreme Court's lowest standard of review).
The decision remained in the context of child support, without considering different ages for males and females in other contexts.
The ''Stanton'' decision placed the Court on record as declaring that society's stereotypes were not a legitimate basis for official policies that treated men and women differently.
Blackmun wrote: "A child, male or female, is still a child... No longer is the female destined solely for the home and the rearing of the family, and only the male for the marketplace and the world of ideas... If a specified age of minority is required for the boy in order to assure him parental support while he attains his education and training, so, too, is it for the girl."
[.]
See also
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Gender equality
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
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List of gender equality lawsuits
This page has a list of lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is ...
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List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 421
This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 421 of the ''United States Reports
The ''United States Reports'' () are the official record ( law reports) of the Supreme Court of the United States. They include rulings, ...
References
External links
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{{US14thAmendment
United States equal protection case law
United States Supreme Court cases
1975 in United States case law
United States family case law
Gender discrimination lawsuits
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court