Bowen v. Roy
| Bowen v. Roy | |
|---|---|
| Argued January 14, 1986 Decided June 11, 1986 | |
| Full case name | Otis R. Bowen, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al. v. Stephen J. Roy, et al. |
| Citations | 476 U.S. 693 (more) 106 S. Ct. 2147; 90 L. Ed. 2d 735; 1986 U.S. LEXIS 52; 54 U.S.L.W. 4603 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Roy v. Cohen, 590 F. Supp. 600 (M.D. Pa. 1984); probable jurisdiction noted, 472 U.S. 1016 (1985). |
| Holding | |
| The statutory requirement that a state agency utilize Social Security numbers in administering the programs in question does not violate the Free Exercise Clause, which only affords an individual protection from certain forms of governmental compulsion but does not afford an individual a right to dictate the conduct of the Government's internal procedures. The Government's use of a Social Security number for appellees' child does not itself impair appellees' freedom to exercise their religion. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Burger (parts I, II), joined by Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor |
| Concurrence | Burger (part III), joined by Powell, Rehnquist |
| Concurrence | Blackmun |
| Concurrence | Stevens |
| Concur/dissent | O'Connor, joined by Brennan, Marshall |
| Dissent | White |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. I | |
Bowen v. Roy, 476 U.S. 693 (1986), was a United States Supreme Court case which ruled that a government program requiring the use of a social security number did not violate the first amendment.