WASHINGTON, DC – The Legal Aid Justice Center expressed major concerns about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week that found people who win early rulings in civil rights cases would not necessarily be entitled to recover legal fees, reported Associated Press News.
According to AP News, both conservative and liberal groups share a similar perspective on this issue, arguing, “(This) could make it harder to fight for people’s rights in court.”
The high court ruled 7-2 against Virginia drivers in a case brought by them against the state of Virginia, suing the state for revoking their licenses under a law that they argued was “unconstitutional,” AP News wrote.
In the same case, the drivers secured an early court order victory, halting enforcement of an existing law until the state of Virginia repealed the measure, AP News detailed, essentially ending the case before the judge could make a determination.
AP News noted this had implications for the drivers as they were unable to recover their legal fee from the state despite the usual practice of requiring the losing side to cover the plaintiff’s legal fees in civil rights cases.
AP News added this practice was meaningful as it was “aimed at making it easier for people to press those claims in court.”
The state opposed the appellate court’s finding that required them to pay the driver’s legal fees, arguing that taxpayer dollars should not be used to cover their legal fees because the drivers “won a preliminary injunction rather than a final court determination,” wrote AP News.
AP News reported this argument has seen opposition from various proponents of civil rights such as American Civil Liberties Union and the Second Amendment-supporting Firearms Policy Coalition, who posed the argument that cases are usually determined at the preliminary injunction stage.
While expressing their support for the drivers, these advocacy groups added that bearing hefty legal fees would also reduce the willingness of people to challenge the government in court even if they make a persuasive case, AP News writes.
SCOTUS sided with the state as it found that, in order to qualify for recovery of legal fees, the plaintiff must win on merit in trial rather than a preliminary injunction, said AP, quoting Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote, “A plaintiff who secures a preliminary injunction has achieved only temporary success at an intermediary ‘stage of the suit.’”
AP News noted Roberts’ opinion was backed by liberal-leaning Justice Kagan and five of his fellow conservative justices, while Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
AP News added the majority found the concern relating to the government’s ability to “derail a case by changing a law if they lose at the preliminary injunction stage” as speculative.
The Legal Aid Justice Center, which filed the case, condemned the ruling as “a devastating blow to civil rights enforcement,” and Executive Director Angela Ciolfi warned it would lead to “more civil rights violations and fewer remedies,” wrote AP News.
