Mathews v. Eldridge
United States Supreme Court
424 U.S. 319 (1976)
Eldridge (plaintiff) received Social Security disability benefits until a state agency, based on his questionnaire answers and his doctor's and a psychiatric consultant's reports, informed him he was no longer eligible; he disputed the decision in writing, but the agency terminated his benefits anyway, and the SSA accepted that determination, advising him he could seek reconsideration within six months. Rather than pursue reconsideration, Eldridge sued challenging the constitutionality of terminating disability benefits without a prior evidentiary hearing; the lower courts held due process required such a hearing before termination, and Mathews, the Secretary of HEW, appealed.
Whether the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment requires that the recipient of Social Security disability benefits be afforded an opportunity for an evidentiary hearing prior to the termination of his benefits.