DeShaney v. Winnebago County
DeShaney v. Winnebago County, 489 U.S. 189 (1989), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on February 22, 1989. The court held that a state government agency's failure to prevent child abuse by a custodial parent does not violate the child's right to liberty for the purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
| DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services | |
|---|---|
Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Argued November 2, 1988 Decided February 22, 1989 | |
| Full case name | Joshua DeShaney, a minor, by his guardian ad litem, and Melody DeShaney, Petitioners v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, et al. |
| Docket no. | 87-154 |
| Citations | 489 U.S. 189 (more) 109 S. Ct. 998; 103 L. Ed. 2d 249; 1989 U.S. LEXIS 1039; 57 U.S.L.W. 4218 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Division, No. 85 C 310, John W. Reynolds, Judge |
| Holding | |
| A state or county agency does not have an obligation under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to prevent child abuse when the child is 1) in parental, not agency custody, and 2) the state did not create the danger of abuse or increase the child's vulnerability to abuse. Failure to prevent child abuse by a custodial parent does not violate the child's right to liberty for the purposes of the 14th Amendment. United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Rehnquist, joined by White, Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy |
| Dissent | Brennan, joined by Marshall, Blackmun |
| Dissent | Blackmun |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 | |
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