Ada

dissenting in part:

The majority opinion, and the district court orders it affirms, give the distinct impression that the lawyers of Guam and Saipan 3 are a bunch of spineless yokels — unfit to handle complex cases, daunted by tough legal issues, strangers to constitutional litigation, cowed by public opinion and lacking the pluck to stand up for the rights of their fellow citizens. The same documents also suggest that the underlying litigation — for which plaintiffs’ attorneys are awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars — was immensely difficult and required formidable legal skills. Finally, one is led to believe that the people of Guam are of one mind in opposing abortion, and that the very few who disagree live in fear of their lives and livelihoods.

None of this is true.

This is not a case where plaintiffs tried to get a lawyer but were repeatedly rebuffed. *705 Cf. Fadhl v. City and County of San Francisco, 859 F.2d 649, 651 (9th Cir.1988)(per curiam)(Fadhl was turned down by 35 attorneys; court applied multiplier in light of this “extraordinary difficulty” finding representation). So far as the record discloses, the Guam Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists…

Defendants-appellants Joseph Ada, Governor of Guam, and other territorial officials appeal the district court’s award of attorneys’ fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 to plaintiffs-appellees Guam Society of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Guam Nurses Association (“GNA”), Dr. Edmund A. Griley, Dr. William S. Freeman, Dr. John Dunlop, Reverend Milton H. Cole, Jr. and Laurie Konwith. The fee award arises out of plaintiffs’ successful constitutional challenge to Guam’s anti-abortion statute. We previously vacated the initial award of attorneys’ fees and remanded for the district court to consider intervening case law. On remand, the district court reinstated the full amount of the original award and also awarded plaintiffs interest from the date of the initial fee award as well as interim fees. This appeal concerns the district court’s decision on remand.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Underlying Litigation

In March of 1990, plaintiffs brought an action challenging the constitutionality of Guam Public Law 20-134, which outlawed virtually all abortions on Guam. The district court declared the law unconstitutional and granted plaintiffs’ request for a permanent injunction against its enforcement. We…