Lewis v. Martin

Appellants are mothers and children who receive welfare assistance under California law.1 At the time these actions were commenced, California law provided2 that *554payments to a “needy child” who “lives with his mother and a stepfather or an adult male person assuming the role of spouse to the mother although not legally married to her” — known in the vernacular as a MARS— shall be computed after consideration is given to the income of the stepfather or MARS.3 The California law conclusively presumes that the needs of the children are reduced by the amount of income available from the man in…