William H. Orr v. Lillian M. Orr, 440 U.S. 278 (1979)

CASE: Ex-husband challenges Alabama law which says only men can pay alimony

HOLDING: State stautue excluding wives or recently divorced women from having to pay alimony to ex- or current husbands violates the mens' right to equal protection under the law where the staute is not substantially related to the achievement of helping needy spouses or reducing the historical disparity between women and men caused by discrimination against women.

RATIONALE:

• Individualized hearings at which the parties' relative financial circumstances are considered already occur so that there is no reason to use sex as a proxy for need.
• Needy men could be helped along with needy women with little if any additional burden on the state.
• The effort to help needy wives would not be compromised by a gender-neutral statute.
• The wives who benefit from the disparate treatment are those who are not dependent on their husbands in the first instance.
• The staute perpetuates the stereotype that women are helpless and in need of protection.

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