Bailey v. Weinberger, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare

Mr. Justice White, joined by Mr. Justice Douglas and Mr. Justice Stewart,

dissenting.

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, adhering to its previous decisions in Stuckey v. Weinberger, 488 F. 2d 904 (1973) (en banc), and Wallace v. Weinberger, 488 F. 2d 606 (1973) (en banc), cert. denied, 417 U. S. 913 (1974), held in this case that the decision of the Secretary of HEW on a request to reopen a previous denial on the merits of a claim for benefits is so far committed to agency discretion by the provisions of § 205 (h) of the Social Security Act, 49 Stat. 624, as amended, 53 Stat. 1371, 60…