Robert J. Pilkington v. Joseph J. Bevilacqua

COFFIN, Chief Judge.

This appeal arises out of an award of attorney’s fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988. Plaintiff-appellee, the unit program manager of the Northern Rhode Island unit of the Institute of Mental Health, brought an action against defendants-appellants, various state officials, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that his discharge from employment infringed his rights guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Plaintiff ultimately prevailed when the district court concluded, after trial, that appellee’s rights to free speech and procedural due process had been violated.…