Published December, 2005

Fowlkes v. Adamec, 432 F.3d 90 (2d Cir. 2005)

Finding that the plaintiff’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits should not have been revoked, the court concluded that the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) guidelines for declaring a person a fleeing felon were inconsistent with the Social Security Act and its implementing regulations in that the guidelines did not require proof of intent to evade justice. Only a court, not SSA, is permitted to make a finding that a party is fleeing prosecution. Further, benefits cannot be suspended from the date on which a warrant itself was issued, but rather from the date on which a person is officially declared a fleeing felon.