Home > Great American Court Cases > Parham v. J. R.

Legal Citation: 442 U.S. 584 (1979)

Appellants
Parham, Commissioner, Department of Human Resources, et al.

Appellees
J. R., et al.

Appellants' Claim
That a federal district court had erred in ruling that a minor was allowed a hearing prior to being committed to a mental institution.

Chief Lawyer for Appellants
John L. Cromartie, Jr.

Chief Lawyer for Appellees
R. Douglas Lackey

Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger (writing for the Court), Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting
William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
20 June 1979

Decision
Overturned a lower court's decision that would have barred the commitment of...