Parents Opposed to Punitive Support v. Gardner

998 F.2d 764 (1993)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Parents Opposed to Punitive Support v. Gardner

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
998 F.2d 764 (1993)

  • Written by Haley Gintis, JD

Facts

In 1985, Washington’s governor, Booth Gardner (defendant) formed a task force pursuant to Congress’s mandate requiring states to create presumptive child-support guidelines. Following the task force’s recommendation, the state legislature passed into law a presumptive child-support schedule (schedule). Judicial courts were instructed to utilize the schedule for determining the appropriate child-support obligation based on the income of both the obligator and obligee and the number of children in the family. Courts were permitted to deviate from the obligation determined by the schedule based on factors such as wealth, income of other adults, debt, children from other relationships, and whether the obligator spent significant time with the child. In enacting the schedule, the legislature intended to ensure that obligations were based on economic data and that decisions regarding obligations would be more equitable and predictable. Parents Opposed to Punitive Support (POPS) (plaintiff) sued Gardner on the ground that the schedule was violative of both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. POPS alleged that the schedule violated parents’ due-process rights by interfering with a parent’s right to remarry and have additional children due to the financial burdens. POPS also alleged that the schedule affected the relationship between the noncustodial parent and the child because it created major financial frustrations for parents. POPS alleged that the schedule violated their equal-protection rights because discrimination against noncustodial parents required more than a rational-basis review and, in the alternative, the schedule could not pass a rational-basis review. Gardner moved for summary judgment, which the district court granted. POPS appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Farris, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership