Opinion ID: 74210
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Legislative History of the Hyde Amendment

Text: Given the plain meaning of the statutory language, we could bypass any consideration of legislative history. See Steele, 147 F.3d at 1318. “Nevertheless, for the sake of completeness,” McNely v. Ocala Star-Banner Corp., 99 F.3d 1068, 1074 (11th Cir. 1996), and because this is our first occasion to decide a Hyde Amendment case, 1 we will look at that history. The legislative history of the 1 With the exception of a Tenth Circuit opinion construing the time period for appeal, see United States v. Robbins, 179 F.3d 1268, 1270 (10th Cir. 1999) (“Because an appeal under the ‘Hyde Amendment’ arises out of a criminal case, Fed. R. App. P. 4(b) applies and litigants must file a notice of appeal within the 10 days after the order appealed from is entered.”), no other circuit court of appeals has construed any provision of the Hyde Amendment in a published opinion. 9 provision is far from extensive, but that which does exist reinforces the narrowness of scope described by the plain meaning of the language used. The legislative undertaking that would lead to the Hyde Amendment began because some members of Congress were upset over the prosecution of one of their friends and former colleagues, Joseph McDade, who after a lengthy investigation was tried and acquitted in 1996 of federal bribery and racketeering charges. See Elkan Abramowitz & Peter Scher, The Hyde Amendment: Congress Creates a Toehold for Curbing Wrongful Prosecution, 22 Champion, Mar. 1998, at 23. In response to the prosecution of McDade, in 1997 Representative John Murtha offered an amendment to an appropriations bill which would have provided reimbursement to members of Congress and their staffs who successfully defend themselves against a federal criminal prosecution. See id. Representative Henry Hyde, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, was sympathetic to the Murtha’s proposal, and apparently shared much of his motivation, because in discussing the measure on the floor of the House, Hyde referred to “someone we all know who went through hell, if I may use the term, for many years of being accused and finally prevailed at enormous expense.” 143 Cong. Rec. H 7786-04, H7791 (Sept 24, 1997). Hyde, however, thought that Murtha’s proposal was too 10 narrow, because it was limited to members of Congress and their staff. He pointed to the case of former Secretary of Labor Ray Donovan, “who was prosecuted and again and again and again and won every time.” Id. at H7792. Acknowledging that it might be impossible for someone in that situation ever to regain their reputation, Hyde declared “at least, if the Government tries to bankrupt someone because of attorney fees, they ought to pay that.” Id. Representative Hyde offered his own appropriations bill amendment, which was not limited in its coverage to members of Congress and their staff, but instead extended to all federal criminal defendants. In addition, Hyde patterned his amendment after the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), see 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A), which authorizes the award of attorneys’ fees and costs to private parties who prevail against the government in civil actions unless the government establishes that its position was “substantially justified.” See 143 Cong. Rec. H7786-04, H7791 (Sept. 24, 1997) (statement of Rep. Hyde). Thus, in its original form the Hyde Amendment would have allowed the award of attorney fees and costs to any federal criminal defendant who prevailed against the government, 11 unless the government showed that its position in the prosecution had been “substantially justified.” 2 Representative Hyde described the type of prosecutorial misconduct at which his proposal was aimed as follows: What if Uncle Sam sues you, charges you with a criminal violation, even gets an indictment and proceeds, but they are wrong. They are not just wrong, they are willfully wrong, they are frivolously wrong. They keep information from you that the law says they must disclose. They hide information. They do not disclose exculpatory information to which you are entitled. They suborn perjury. . . . [U]nder my amendment . . . , [if the government] cannot prove substantial justification after the case is over, and the verdict is not guilty, then the prosecution pays something toward the attorney’s fees of the victim. Id. Representative Hyde’s proposed amendment drew opposition. Representative David Skaggs criticized Hyde for offering the amendment without 2 The full text of Representative Hyde’s initial amendment was as follows: During fiscal year 1997 and in any fiscal year thereafter, the court, in any criminal case pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, shall award, and the United States shall pay, to a prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fee and other litigation costs, unless the court finds that the position of the United States was substantially justified or that other special circumstances make an award unjust. Such awards shall be granted pursuant to the procedures and limitations provided for an award under section 2421 of title 28, United States Code. Fees and other expenses awarded under this provision to a party shall be paid by the agency over which the party prevails from any funds made available to the agency by appropriation. No new appropriation shall be made as a result of this provision. 143 Cong. Rec. H7786-04, H7791 (Sept. 24, 1997) (statement of Rep. Hyde) (emphasis added). 12 the benefit of formal hearings which would have allowed the Department of Justice or the criminal defense bar to comment on its provisions, and also criticized the provision itself for failing to require that the government’s conduct be “malicious” or “abusive”. See 143 Cong. Rec. H7786-04, H7791-92 (Sept. 24, 1997) (statement of Rep. Skaggs). Skaggs noted that the rigorous standard for a finding of frivolousness outlined by Hyde in his remarks on the floor (which we have quoted above) was lacking from the amendment itself. See id. at H7792. He said: “Were the words ‘malicious’ and ‘abusive’ in his amendment, and maybe those are criteria [that] ought to be introduced, it would be a different matter. Those were not standards that are in [Representative Hyde’s] amendment although they were certainly the standards invoked in his rhetoric.” Id. Another Representative criticized the amendment for its potential “chilling effect” on federal prosecutions, especially in regard to crimes where the government has to rely on witnesses who often are reluctant to testify, such as child abuse and pornography. Id. at H7793 (statement of Rep. Rivers). The Clinton Administration was even more forceful in opposing the Hyde Amendment in its original form. In a statement of policy read on the House floor, the administration charged that authorizing the award of fees and costs unless the government proved substantial justification “would have a profound and harmful 13 impact on the Federal criminal justice system.” Id. at H7792. It also warned that the measure would “create a monetary incentive for criminal defense attorneys to generate additional litigation in cases in which prosecutors have in good faith brought sound charges, tying up the scarce time and resources that are vital to bringing criminals to justice.” Id. In addition, the Department of Justice publically contended that the Hyde Amendment would unnecessarily deplete prosecutorial and judicial resources by forcing the government to litigate its “justification” following an acquittal. See Elkan Abramowitz, The Hyde Amendment and Wrongful Federal Prosecutions, N.Y.L.J., Jan. 6, 1998, at 3. It argued that allowing courts to second guess prosecutions and diverting the Department’s limited resources, would discourage prosecutors from pursuing legitimate charges. See Mark Johnson, Reimbursement Bill Opposed by Top Prosecutors, Tampa Trib., Nov. 3, 1997, at 3. 3 Notwithstanding the opposition, the House did approve the Hyde Amendment to the appropriations bill, by a vote of 340 to 84. See 143 Cong. Rec. H7849-01, H7849 (Sept. 25, 1997). Even though the bill provided the Department 3 Representative Hyde felt the heat. As Hyde stated in an interview, “I got all kinds of opposition from the administration. [House Speaker] Newt [Gingrich] was dismissive of it, [Senate Majority Leader] Trent [Lott] was dismissive of it. . . . They were both apparently bothered by veto threats by the [P]resident.” See T.R. Goldman, Spending Bill Alters Legal Landscape, Legal Times, Nov. 17, 1997, at 1. 14 with a billion dollar increase in appropriations over the prior year, see T.R. Goldman, Spending Bill Alters Legal Landscape, Legal Times, Nov. 17, 1997, at 1, the Attorney General warned Congress that the Department of Justice would urge the President to veto the entire appropriations bill if it contained the Hyde Amendment. See Harvey Berkman, The Wrongly Prosecuted May Get Legal Fees Help, The Nat’l L.J., Nov. 24, 1997, at A10. The Senate chose not to adopt the Hyde Amendment, passing the appropriations bill without it. Faced with the Department of Justice’s fierce opposition to the Hyde Amendment and the possibility of a presidential veto, the Conference Committee compromised and watered down the provision. The Committee initially replaced the standard that had been borrowed from the EAJA and which required fees unless the government could show that its position was “substantially justified” with one of the standards governing the payment of attorney fees found in the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of 1986 (“the Firearms Act”), see 18 U.S.C. § 924(d)(2)(B). 4 Under that standard a prevailing party may recover attorney fees 4 That provision, 18 U.S.C. § 924(d)(2)(B), reads: In any other action or proceeding under the provisions of this chapter, the court, when it finds that such action was without foundation, or was initiated vexatiously, frivolously, or in bad faith, shall allow the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fee, and the United States shall be liable therefor. 15 only if the court finds that the government’s “action was without foundation, or was initiated vexatiously, frivolously, or in bad faith.” § 924(d)(2)(B). Unlike the Firearms Act standard, however, the proposed compromise standard vested discretion in the court not to award attorney fees even where that standard was met if “the court finds that special circumstances make such an award unjust.” Pub. L. No. 105-119, 111 Stat. 2440, 2519 (1997) (reprinted in 18 U.S.C. § 3006A, historical and statutory notes). Although the Department of Justice had suggested the Firearms Act standard, some members of Congress were still concerned that standard would be too easy to meet. In response to their concern, two changes were made to the language before the Conference Committee reported it out. One was that the burden of making the requisite showing was put on the prevailing criminal defendant instead of the government. This change was effected by language expressly disavowing the burden of proof contained in the EAJA. As modified, the provision stated that “[s]uch awards [of attorney fees and expenses] shall be granted pursuant to the procedures and limitations (but not the burden of proof) 18 U.S.C. § 924(d)(2)(B). Although there is little case law on the Firearms Act, the “bad faith, without foundation, vexatiously or frivolously” language permits recovery “only in very limited, specifically articulated instances.” See United States v. Fourteen Various Firearms, 899 F. Supp. 249, 253 (E.D. Va. 1995). 16 provided for an award under [the EAJA].” Pub. L. No. 105-119, 111 Stat. 2440, 2519 (1997) (reprinted in 18 U.S.C. § 3006A, historical and statutory notes) (emphasis added); see generally Pierce v. Underwood, 487 U.S. 552, 108 S. Ct. 2541 (1988) (indicating that the government has the burden of proof under the EAJA to show that its position was substantially justified). The other modification the Conference Committee made was to narrow the scope of the Hyde Amendment by deleting from its description of prosecutions which would justify an award those that were brought “without foundation.” See T.R. Goldman, Spending Bill Alters Legal Landscape, Legal Times, Nov. 17, 1997, at 1; H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 104-405, at 193-94 (1997), reprinted in 1997 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2941, 3044-45. The effect was to require a criminal defendant seeking fees to show more than that the prosecution had been without foundation. The “more” a defendant would be required to show is reflected in the final language of the provision, as it was enacted into law, which provides that attorney fees may be awarded where “the court finds that the position of the United States was vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith, unless the court finds that special 17 circumstances make such an award unjust.” Pub. L. No. 105-119, 111 Stat. 2440, 2519 (1997) (reprinted in 18 U.S.C. § 3006A, historical and statutory notes). 5 So, in response to concern that the initial version of the Hyde Amendment swept too broadly, the scope of the provision was curtailed significantly. The version enacted into law does not permit the award of fees to a prevailing criminal defendant whenever the government fails to show that its position was “substantially justified.” Instead, a successful defendant must show that the government’s position was “vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith,” and even then may not recover if there are special circumstances which make the award of fees unjust. The plain language, reinforced by the legislative history of the provision, places a daunting obstacle before defendants who seek to obtain attorney fees and costs from the government following a successful defense of criminal charges.