Boyd v. Bowen

I respectfully dissent. While the eligibility requirements may not be so irrational as to be violative of due process, I think the government should be estopped from insisting upon strict compliance. In my view, “hard and fast rules against estoppel of the Government are neither fair nor constitutionally required,” Schweiker v. Hansen, 450 U.S. 785, 793, 101 S.Ct. 1468, 1473, 67 L.Ed.2d 685 (Marshall, dissenting) (1981), particularly where, as here, an eligible applicant loses social security benefits due to a judge’s erroneous advice and confusing legal standards.

Soon after her husband’s…