Jerry E. Stewart Richard Eugene Smith Kenneth Wilson William Brown v. Brad Gates, Sheriff William Wallace Ralph A. Diedrich Robert W. Battin

Sheriff Brad Gates and the other defendants appeal the district court’s award of $100,000 in attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 . Defendants do not dispute the $2539.24 award for costs incurred by plaintiffs’ attorneys. The underlying civil rights litigation concerns prison conditions in Orange County, California. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we reverse and remand the fee award.

I

Litigation over the Orange County prison conditions began in 1975 and has resulted in various court orders to improve those conditions. The district court has never appointed any attorney for plaintiffs to monitor the prison conditions for compliance with its orders.

This appeal arises from a fee awarded upon application by three attorneys and one paralegal. Attorney Richard Herman sought compensation for 271.5 hours of legal services. His time records, which covered only 237.7 hours, were handwritten and virtually indecipherable. Herman stated that his billing rate was $225 per hour and had been at that level for the year prior to the application. Herman’s paralegal, who also serves as his secretary, sought compensation for 300 hours of largely estimated time at $60 per hour.…