Buckeye Reporter

On August 12, 2024, The Buckeye Institute joined an amicus brief in the case of Lackey v. Stinnie, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure Americans' access to the legal system.

“Congress intended the awarding of attorneys’ fees to create incentives for lawyers to represent clients in cases vindicating important constitutional and statutory rights,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “And the government should not be allowed to evade paying attorneys’ fees by abandoning its claims after a plaintiff wins a preliminary injunction.”

The issue of awarding attorneys’ fees is significant for clients with limited financial resources who bring cases defending and promoting constitutional rights. These individuals are often represented by public-interest law firms like The Buckeye Institute that depend on the "fee-shifting" process to provide expert legal representation.

In their brief, The Buckeye Institute and other amici argue that when a preliminary injunction grants a plaintiff concrete, irreversible relief on the merits or if a case becomes moot before final judgment with no further court-ordered assistance needed, plaintiffs should be awarded attorneys’ fees as per court precedent. Failing to do so could create incentives for defendants to prolong litigation merely to recover fees.

A broad bipartisan coalition supported The Buckeye Institute's brief, including groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, The Goldwater Institute, Institute for Justice, Public Citizen, The Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, and The Rutherford Institute.