ABSTRACT
In Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 US 618, the US Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a one-year state residency requirement for receipt of welfare benefits. Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Court substantially expanded the scope of the Constitution's equal protection guarantee. Shapiro v. Thompson was the most significant of Warren Court cases applying the fundamental-rights branch of modern equal protection doctrine. In Shapiro and two companion cases, the Court struck down Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and District of Columbia regulations conditioning receipt of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits on a one- year residency requirement. Laws creating two classes of needy citizens, Justice William J. Brennan Jr. declared for a six-three majority, deterred people from exercising their fundamental right to interstate travel and were thus subject to strict judicial review. The federal Social Security Act stipulated that states could impose no more than a year's residency requirement for receipt of AFDC benefits.
