When ABC, Fox, CBS, CNN and the Associated Press have to scrape up money to vindicate our First Amendment rights by bringing a lawsuit against the state of Minnesota (related to election day exit polling), who will reimburse them? Us. The tax-payers of Minnesota. The law provides that they’re entitled to their attorneys’ fees for performing what is ultimately a public service, of course (vindicating constitutional rights for us all).
On the other hand, there are “attorneys’ fees” and then there are “ATTORNEYS’ FEES.”
Yet again, the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota has trimmed back the high fees of a big-time coastal law firm, reasoning that there are plenty of Minnesota lawyers with the background and expertise to perform the same work at a fraction of the cost (this time, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis (D. Minn.)).