Lackey v. Stinnie

The Institute for Free Speech has filed an amicus brief in Lackey v. Stinnie urging the Supreme Court to affirm that civil rights plaintiffs who obtain precedent-setting preliminary relief are “prevailing parties” entitled to attorney fees under federal law, even if their cases later become moot. The Institute argues that denying fees in such cases contradicts Congress’s intent to encourage civil rights litigation through fee-shifting statutes.

The Institute is joined in its brief by several other prominent public-interest organizations, including the Cato Institute, Southeastern Legal Foundation, New Civil Liberties Alliance, Liberty Justice Center, Second Amendment Foundation, and the National Rifle Association of America.

The Institute for Free Speech argues in sum that adopting “ever-more narrow, strained, and unnatural readings of ‘prevailing’ is not just bad statutory interpretation. It deprives this Court of cases that enable it to do some of its most important work.”

To read the amicus brief in Lackey v. Stinnie, click here.  To read our full press release, click here.