Administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates on the basis of sex; the first time the Equal Protection Clause had been read by the Supreme Court as applying to sex. Decided November 22, 1971 (argued October 19, 1971). Opinion of the Court: Warren E. Burger → go there Topic: Discrimination based on sex. Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71 (1971), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States holding that the administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between sexes. In Reed v. Reed the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited differential treatment based on sex. Wiki link