Stanton v. Stanton

Stanton v. Stanton, 421 U.S. 7 (1975), is a United States Supreme Court case which struck down Utah 's definitions of adulthood as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause : females reached adulthood at 18; males at 21. : 217–218

Background

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The case started in Utah state court. : 217–218 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 couple's son reached twenty-one. : 218 The lower court ruled against the mother, and then Utah Supreme Court affirmed, holding that there was a "reasonable basis" for the differential treatment: women matured earlier and married younger; men had a greater need for education. : 218 The Utah Supreme Court stated in its opinion that though the basis for the law was an "old notion," the law was not unconstitutional. : 218

Opinion

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Justice Blackmun wrote for the majority. : 218 He held that the law violated Equal Protection under any standard of constitutional review, including the least stringent form of review, rational basis review. : 218 The decision only applied in the context of child support. : 218

In the Stanton decision, the Court declared that society's stereotypes were not a legitimate basis for official policies that treated men and women differently. : 218 Later cases would rely on Stanton to strike down laws classifying men and women based purely on stereotypical assumptions about gender roles.

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."