Boddie v. Connecticut (1969)

Filing fees cannot bar access to divorce courts by the poor. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibit a state from denying, solely because of inability to pay, access to its courts to individuals who sought judicial dissolution of their marriages.

Citation: 401 U.S. 371 (1971)
Court: SCOTUS
Date decided: Dec 8, 1969
Longer case name: Gladys BODDIE et al., Appellants, v. State of CONNECTICUT et al.
Law type: Civil
Jurisdiction level:Federal
State of origin: Connecticut
Topic(s):Access to courts, Court fees, Divorce, and Due process
Lists:Important cases
Result:Win
Attorneys:Arthur B. LaFrance, New Haven, Conn., reargued the cause and filed briefs for appellants. (New Haven Legal Assistance Association)
Others involved:Allan Ashman filed a brief for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association as amicus curiae urging reversal.
More info: LaFrance, Arthur B., Constitutional Law Reform for the Poor: Boddie V. Connecticut (August 14, 2008). Duke Law Journal, p. 487, 1971. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1227221

Case Importance

Arthur B. LaFrance, Duke Law Journal, 2008: “Although limited by the Court’s subsequent decision in In Re. Kras, Boddie remains today one of the most frequently cited due process decisions by the Supreme Court.”

Case Details

(The syllabus is not part of the opinion, but is a summary prepared by the court reporter as a convenience.)

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

Syllabus

In view of the basic position of the marriage relationship in our society and the state monopolization of the means for dissolving that relationship, due process of law prohibits a State from denying, solely because of inability to pay court fees and costs, access to its courts to indigents who, in good faith, seek judicial dissolution of their marriage. Pp. 374—383.

286 F.Supp. 968, reversed.


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Last modified: 2022-12-27 12:42
Case internal grade: A | Case internal status: OK |
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