Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Attorneys' Fees In Civil Rights Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday heard oral arguments in a case that could have important implications for the recovery of attorneys' fees by prevailing parties who assert Free Exercise claims against state and local governments. Perdue v. Kenny A. is an appeal from an 11th Circuit decision that raises the question of whether attorneys' fees awarded under 42 USC Sec. 1988 can be enhanced based solely on the quality of performance and results obtained in the litigation. The attorney fee provisions of Sec. 1988 apply to actions under Sec. 1983, under RFRA and under RLUIPA. SCOTUS Wiki has background on the case and links to all the briefs as well as the 11th Circuit opinion below. The Supreme Court has posted the full transcript of the argument. SCOTUSBlog carried a summary of the arguments.