Webb v. County Board of Education of Dyer County, Tennessee, et al. (471 U.S. 234)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 17, 1985 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 471 U.S. 234 · 105 S. Ct. 1923
- Decided
- April 17, 1985
- Term
- October Term 1984
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Attorneys
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. The Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act of 1976, 90 Stat. 2641, 42 U. S. C. § 1988, authorizes a court to award a reasonable attorney’s fee to the prevailing party in “any action or proceeding” to enforce certain statutes, including 42 U. S. C. § 1983. Petitioner was represented by counsel in local administrative proceedings and in a subsequent § 1983 action challenging the termination of his employment as a public school teacher. He ultimately prevailed and was awarded attorney’s fees for the time his lawyer spent on the judicial proceedings, but denied fees for the time spent in proceedings before the local School Board. The question presented is whether the District Court correctly excluded the time spent pursuing optional administrative proceedings from the calculation of a “reasonable fee” for the prevailing party. In the spring of 1974 respondent Dyer County Board of Education, terminated the employment of petitioner, who was a black elementary school teacher with tenure. Petitioner retained counsel to assist him in demonstrating that his discharge was unjustified and to obtain appropriate relief. A Tennessee statute provides that public school teachers may only be dismissed for specific causes, and guarantees a hearing on charges warranting dismissal. Petitioner sought and eventually obtained a series of hearings…
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