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Frontiero v. Richardson

Citation:

411 U.S. 677 (1973)

Facts

A federal law stated that a serviceman could claim his wife as a “dependent” in order to obtain allowances and medical and dental benefits, regardless of whether his wife was actually dependent on his salary for support. However, a servicewoman could not receive an allowance for her husband, unless he was dependent on her for over one-half of his support. Frontiero (Petitioner), a female lieutenant in the U.S. air force, sought allowances for her husband but was denied because she was not able to demonstrate that her husband was dependent on her for more than one-half of his support, as required by federal law. She filed suit against Richardson (Respondent), the U.S. Secretary of Defense, arguing that the law was unconstitutional because it discriminated on the basis of sex.

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