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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Dandridge v. Williams
Citation:
397 U.S. 471 (1970)Facts
Maryland participated in the federally funded AFDC program, computing a standard of need for each eligible family based on the number of children and living circumstances. However, Maryland imposed a maximum grant regulation limiting benefits to $250 per month in certain counties and Baltimore City (and $240 elsewhere), regardless of family size. The appellees all had large families whose calculated needs exceeded the maximum grant. For example, appellee Williams, with eight children, should have received $296.15 per month based on the state’s own calculations, but instead received only the $250 maximum. The appellees challenged this regulation as violating both the Social Security Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The District Court initially found the regulation violated both federal law and the Constitution, but on reconsideration based its decision solely on constitutional grounds.
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