Reed v. Reed 8212, No. 70
| Court | United States Supreme Court |
| Writing for the Court | BURGER |
| Citation | 92 S.Ct. 251,30 L.Ed.2d 225,404 U.S. 71 |
| Docket Number | No. 70 |
| Decision Date | 22 November 1971 |
| Parties | Sally M. REED, Appellant, v. Cecil R. REED, Administrator, etc. —4 |
v.
Cecil R. REED, Administrator, etc.
Syllabus
A mandatory provision of the Idaho probate code that gives preference to men over women when persons of the same entitlement class apply for appointment as administrator of a decedent's estate is based solely on a discrimination prohibited by and therefore violative of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
93 Idaho 511, 465 P.2d 635, reversed and remanded.
Allen R. Derr, Boise, Idaho, for appellant.
Charles S. Stout, Boise, Idaho, for appellee.
Mr. Chief Justice BURGER delivered the opinion of the Court.
Richard Lynn Reed, a minor, died intestate in Ada County, Idaho, on March 29, 1967. His adoptive parents, who had separated sometime prior to his death, are the parties to this appeal. Approximately seven months after Richard's death, his mother, appellant Sally Reed, filed a petition in the Probate Court of Ada County,
Page 72
seeking appointment as administratrix of her son's estate. 1 Prior to the date set for a hearing on the mother's petition, appellee Cecil Reed, the father of the decedent, filed a competing petition seeking to have himself appointed administrator of the son's estate. The probate court held a joint hearing on the two petitions and thereafter ordered that letters of administration be issued to appellee Cecil Reed upon his taking the oath and filing the bond required by law. The court treated §§ 15—312 and 15—314 of the Idaho Code as the controlling statutes and read those sections as compelling a preference for Cecil Reed because he was a male.
Section 15—312 2 designates the persons who are entitled to administer the estate of one who dies intestate. In making these designations, that section lists 11 classes of persons who are so entitled and provides, in substance,
Page 73
that the order in which those classes are listed in the section shall be determinative of the relative rights of competing applicants for letters of administration. One of the 11 classes so enumerated is '(t)he father or mother' of the person dying intestate. Under this section then appellant and appellee, being members of the same entitlement class, would seem to have been equally entitled to administer their son's estate. Section 15—314 provides, however, that
'(o)f several persons claiming and equally entitled (under § 15—312) to administer, males must be preferred to females, and relatives of the whole to those of the helf blood.'
In issuing its order, the probate court implicitly recognized the equality of entitlement of the two applicants under § 15—312 and noted that neither of the applicants was under any legal disability; the court ruled, however, that appellee, being a male, was to be preferred to the female appellant 'by reason of Section 15—314 of the Idaho Code.' In stating this conclusion, the probate judge gave no indication that he had attempted to determine the relative capabilities of the competing applicants to perform the functions incident to the administration of an estate. It seems clear the probate judge considered himself bound by statute to give preference to the male candidate over the female, each being otherwise 'equally entitled.'
Sally Reed appealed from the probate court order, and her appeal was treated by the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District of Idaho as a constitutional attack on § 15—314. In dealing with the attack, that court held that the challenged section violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment 3 and was, there-
Page 74
fore, void; the matter was ordered 'returned to the Probate Court for its determination of which of the two parties' was better qualified to administer the estate.
This order was never carried out, however, for Cecil Reed took a further appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court, which reversed the District Court and reinstated the original order naming the father administrator of the estate. In reaching this result, the Idaho Supreme Court first dealt with the governing statutory law and held that under § 15—312 'a father and mother are 'equally entitled' to letters of administration,' but the preference given to males by § 15—314 is 'mandatory' and leaves no room for the exercise of a probate court's discretion in the appointment of administrators. Having thus definitively and authoritatively interpreted the statutory provisions involved, the Idaho Supreme Court then proceeded to examine, and...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Javits v. Stevens, No. 73 Civ. 5339-LFM.
...U.S. at 18, 76 S.Ct. 585. 31 F. S. Royster Guano Co. v. Virginia, 253 U.S. 412, 415, 40 S.Ct. 560, 561, 64 L.Ed. 989 (1920); Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71, 92 S.Ct. 251, 30 L.Ed.2d 225 (1971); Morey v. Doud, 354 U.S. 457, 77 S.Ct. 1344, 1 L.Ed.2d 1485 32 Pordum v. Board of Regents of State of N......
-
Finzer v. Barry, No. 84-5327
...statute] advances that objective in a manner consistent with the command of the Equal Protection Clause.' Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. , 76, [, 92 S.Ct. 251, 254, 30 L.Ed.2d 225] [ (1971) ]." Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley, 408 U.S., at 99, 92 S.Ct. at 2292. And because the statute discri......
-
Great American Federal Savings Loan Association v. Novotny, No. 78-753
...of § 1985(3), see infra, at 392. See generally Califano v. Goldfarb, 430 U.S. 199, 97 S.Ct. 1021, 51 L.Ed.2d 270 (1977); Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71, 92 S.Ct. 251, 30 L.Ed.2d 225 (1971); Mathews v. Lucas, 427 U.S. 495, 506, 96 S.Ct. 2755, 2762, 49 L.Ed.2d 651 (1976). 7. This is analogous to U......
-
Johnson v. Robison 8212 1297, No. 72
...shall be treated alike.' Royster Guano Co. v. Virginia, 253 U.S. 412, 415 (40 S.Ct. 560, 64 L.Ed. 989) (1920).' Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71, 75—76, 92 S.Ct. 251, 253, 30 L.Ed.2d 225 (1971).14 Page 376 Unlike many state and federal statutes that come before us, Congress in this statute has res......
-
Javits v. Stevens, No. 73 Civ. 5339-LFM.
...U.S. at 18, 76 S.Ct. 585. 31 F. S. Royster Guano Co. v. Virginia, 253 U.S. 412, 415, 40 S.Ct. 560, 561, 64 L.Ed. 989 (1920); Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71, 92 S.Ct. 251, 30 L.Ed.2d 225 (1971); Morey v. Doud, 354 U.S. 457, 77 S.Ct. 1344, 1 L.Ed.2d 1485 32 Pordum v. Board of Regents of State of N......
-
Finzer v. Barry, No. 84-5327
...statute] advances that objective in a manner consistent with the command of the Equal Protection Clause.' Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. , 76, [, 92 S.Ct. 251, 254, 30 L.Ed.2d 225] [ (1971) ]." Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley, 408 U.S., at 99, 92 S.Ct. at 2292. And because the statute discri......
-
Great American Federal Savings Loan Association v. Novotny, No. 78-753
...of § 1985(3), see infra, at 392. See generally Califano v. Goldfarb, 430 U.S. 199, 97 S.Ct. 1021, 51 L.Ed.2d 270 (1977); Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71, 92 S.Ct. 251, 30 L.Ed.2d 225 (1971); Mathews v. Lucas, 427 U.S. 495, 506, 96 S.Ct. 2755, 2762, 49 L.Ed.2d 651 (1976). 7. This is analogous to U......
-
Johnson v. Robison 8212 1297, No. 72
...shall be treated alike.' Royster Guano Co. v. Virginia, 253 U.S. 412, 415 (40 S.Ct. 560, 64 L.Ed. 989) (1920).' Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71, 75—76, 92 S.Ct. 251, 253, 30 L.Ed.2d 225 (1971).14 Page 376 Unlike many state and federal statutes that come before us, Congress in this statute has res......
-
The 'Euclidean' Strategy: Authorizing and Implementing the Legislative Districting of Permissible Land Uses
...S. Royster Guano Co. v. Virginia, 253 U.S. 412, 415) and bears “a rational relationship to a [permissible] state objective.” Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71, 76. It is said, however, that if two unmarried people can constitute a “family,” there is no reason why three or four may not. But every li......
-
LEGITIMIZING ILLEGITIMACY IN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
...scrutiny into two chapters that correspond with race and gender, respectively). (51.) See Clark, 486 U.S. at 461. (52.) Id. at 461. (53.) 404 U.S. 71 (1971). (54.) 411 U.S. 677(1973). (55.) 429 U.S. 190(1976). (56.) See, e.g., CHEMERINSKY, supra note 49, at 839-46; STONE ET AL., supra note ......
-
"Equal Outcomes": A Constitutional Comparison of Gender Equality Guarantees in the United States and South Africa.
...(15.) See, e.g., Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, 420 U.S. 636, 653 (1975); Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677, 682-683 (1973); Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71, 76 (1971). (16.) U.S. CONST. amend. XIX (17.) KENDE, supra note 5, at 101; U.S. CONST. (18.) See CHEMERINSKY, supra note 12, at 245, 754. ("......
-
THE DEATH OF ABORTION: IF ROE V. WADE IS OVERTURNED, CAN THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE BE UPHELD UNDER THE ARGUMENTS USED TO ESTABLISH AN INDIVIDUAL'S RIGHT TO PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE?
...190, 218 (1976) (raising standard of scrutiny for sex-based discrimination under Equal Protection to intermediate scrutiny); Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71, 76 (1971) (establishing first time Equal Protection Clause applies to women, specifically regarding sex-based discrimination). "To give a m......
-
Chapter 36, SCR 21 – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Day
...advocacy for gender equality significantly changed the law as it affects women, including the landmark decision of Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71 (1971), the first case to hold that discrimination on the basis of sex violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; WHEREAS, Just......