The fundamental right to travel and the Equal Protection Clause forbid a state from reserving welfare benefits only for persons that have resided in the state for at least one year. Decided April 21, 1969 (argued May 1, 1968). Opinion of the Court: William J. Brennan → go there Dissenting: Warren, Harlan. Applied: the Fourteenth Amendment → go there Topic: Freedom of movement. Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 618 (1969), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that invalidated state durational residency requirements for public assistance and helped establish a fundamental "right to travel" in U.S. law. Shapiro was a part of a set of three welfare cases all heard during the 1968–69 term by the Supreme Court, alongside Harrell v. Tobriner and Smith v. Reynolds. Additionally, Shapiro, King v. Smith (1968), and Goldberg v. Kelly (1970) comprise the "Welfare Cases", a set of successful Supreme Court cases that dealt with welfare. Wiki link