Court Opinion

ID: 9430515
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:29:53.900457+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:23:24.754648
License: Public Domain

Justice Blackmun,
dissenting.
I agree with Justice Marshall that the Court has failed to identify a rational basis for Congress’ decision to treat widowed spouses and surviving divorced spouses differently upon their remarriage. If anything, persons in these two categories are more similarly situated after remarriage than they were before, since they all then belong to family units unconnected to the primary wage earner whose eárnings provide the basis for their secondary social security benefits. Cf. Califano v. Jobst, 434 U. S. 47, 53 (1977) (“marriage is an event which normally marks an important change in economic status” and “not only creates a new family . . . but also modifies . . . pre-existing relationships”).