United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Heckler v. Turner, 468 U.S. 1305 (1984)

Heckler v. Turner

No. A-59 (83-1097)

Decided August 10, 1984

468 U.S. 1305

Syllabus

The Secretary of Health and Human Services' application to stay, pending review by this Court, prospective enforcement of the District Court's permanent injunction (affirmed by the Court of Appeals) -- which, in effect, requires state and local officials, in determining eligibility and benefits under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) statute, to deduct the standard work expense disregard in § 402(a)(8)(A)(ii) of the statute not from gross income but from net income, after deducting such items as federal, state, and local taxes -- is granted prospectively from July 18, 1984. After this Court granted certiorari in this case, 402(a)(8) was amended, effective July 18, 1984, and there is a high probability that the Court will interpret the amendment as rendering the District Court's injunction prospectively improper. Without a stay, the Secretary will suffer irreparable injury if she succeeds on the merits. Moreover, for purposes of this Court's Rule 44.4, "most extraordinary circumstances" are present so as to warrant the application for a stay even though the relief has not first been sought below.