Reed

The Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian Parties prevailed against the Secretary of State of the State of Washington in this civil-rights case. They sued to eliminate Washington’s “blanket primary.” Each political party objected to the Washington system whereby its own adherents could not choose its nominees, and prevailed on its claim that the Washington system was unconstitutional. The lawsuit was brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and other laws by the Democratic Party, and the other two parties intervened as plaintiffs. This order grants the plaintiffs’ motions for attorneys’ fees on appeal. It does not involve attorneys’ fees for litigation in district court.

*1285 1. Entitlement to fees.

Under our construction of 42 U.S.C. § 1988 , a prevailing party in a § 1983 action “should ordinarily recover an attorney’s fee unless special circumstances could render such an award unjust.” 1 The State of Washington argues that this case falls within the “special circumstances” exception.

We have articulated what purports to be a “two-pronged test” for determining when special circumstances exist: (1) whether allowing attorneys’ fees would further the purposes of § 1988; and (2) whether…