The case of Carter et al. v. Stanton, Director, Marion County Department of Public Welfare, et al., 1971 revolved around the constitutionality of an Indiana statute that denied Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits to children residing in homes where a non-legally responsible man was also living. The plaintiffs were women who had been denied AFDC benefits due to this law and they argued that it violated their rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as their right to privacy guaranteed by the First, Fourth, Fifth and Ninth Amendments. However, in a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Hugo Black on behalf of all nine justices (Justice Thurgood Marshall did not participate), the Supreme Court held that there was no constitutional violation because states have wide discretion when determining eligibility for welfare programs and can consider factors such as cohabitation without infringing upon recipients' rights.

In the dissenting opinion for Carter et al. v. Stanton, Justice Blackmun argued that the majority's decision to dismiss the case was premature and inappropriate given its significance in addressing a constitutional question about welfare benefits. He believed that there were sufficient facts presented by plaintiffs to warrant further examination of their claims under due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The plaintiffs alleged that Indiana’s Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program discriminated against them because it provided less aid per child as family size increased, which they claimed violated their rights under federal law and constitutionally guaranteed equality principles. Blackmun felt these allegations deserved more thorough consideration than what they received from lower courts or from his colleagues on Supreme Court bench who dismissed this case without giving any reasons for doing so.