“To direct courts to award attorneys fees in criminal cases that do not result in a conviction, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section amends a note to the Criminal Justice Act (18 U.S.C. 3006A)—which authorizes federally funded representation for indigent persons in federal criminal proceedings—to make three changes: (1) extends the provision's applicability through FY2026 (from FY1998); (2) applies it to cases pending on or after enactment of the Litigation Reimbursement Act (previously, on or after enactment of the FY1998 appropriations act); and (3) requires district courts to award reasonable attorney's fees and litigation expenses to a prevailing party other than the United States in any case that proceeds to trial and results in a judge or jury verdict that is not a conviction (previously, courts could make such awards only if the position of the United States was vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith). (Thus, CJA panel attorneys and other defense counsel are reimbursed for fees and expenses whenever a defendant is acquitted or otherwise not convicted following trial, regardless of government conduct.)
This section (1) requires courts to award costs, as enumerated in section 1920 of this title (excluding attorney fees), to prevailing parties in civil actions brought by or against the United States or its agencies or officials (previously discretionary); and (2) requires courts to award reasonable attorney fees and expenses, in addition to such costs, to prevailing parties in such actions (previously discretionary). (As background, these provisions of the Equal Access to Justice Act enable private parties and small entities prevailing against the government to recover litigation costs when the government's position lacks substantial justification.)