Opinion ID: 749836
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: analysis

Text: 17 Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b), a court has discretion to award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party in specified cases. Ascertaining a reasonable award is sometimes complicated when a client is not charged his attorney's customary hourly rate. In this case for example, Barjon and Duran each paid Wallace $1 to serve as attorney in their respective proceedings. 18 But despite the actual fee charged by the attorney, the Supreme Court of the United States has determined that § 1988 attorney's fees are to be calculated according to the prevailing market rates in the relevant community, regardless of whether plaintiff is represented by private or non-profit counsel. Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 895, 104 S.Ct. 1541, 1547, 79 L.Ed.2d 891 (1984). Therefore, the choice of a relevant community and the prevailing rate in that community are crucial to establishing the amount of attorney's fees granted. 19 We address each of these factors in turn.