In Reed v. Campbell, 1985, the U.S Supreme Court addressed a dispute over an inheritance claim. The case involved the interpretation of Texas' law on intestate succession (inheritance when there is no will) and its application to half-blood relatives (those sharing only one parent). In this particular case, Mrs. Ricker died without leaving a will; her estate was claimed by both her daughter from a previous marriage (Reed) and her husband's son from another relationship (Campbell). Under Texas law at that time, half-bloods could inherit only if there were no whole blood relations alive - which would exclude Reed in favor of Campbell. However, Reed argued that this rule violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it discriminated against certain heirs based solely on their 'half-blood' status. The court agreed with Reed’s argument stating that such discrimination had no rational basis or legitimate state interest thus violating equal protection rights under federal constitution.

In the dissenting opinion for Reed v. Campbell, Justice Brennan disagreed with the majority's interpretation of Section 1983 and its application to this case. He argued that Congress intended Section 1983 to provide a broad remedy for violations of federally protected rights, not just those recognized at common law when it was enacted in 1871. Therefore, he believed that the Court should have considered whether Maine's wrongful death statute violated federal law by limiting recovery only to spouses and next of kin rather than all potential beneficiaries under state intestacy laws. Furthermore, he contended that even if such limitations were permissible under state law, they could still violate federal constitutional or statutory rights if applied in a discriminatory manner. Finally, Justice Brennan criticized the majority for failing to consider whether Mrs. Ricker had an independent claim based on her own injury from her son’s death.