Mabel A. King v. James F. Palmer, Director, D.C. Department of Corrections Mabel A. King v. James F. Palmer, Director, D.C. Department of Corrections

HARRY T. EDWARDS, Circuit Judge, with whom MIKYA, Chief Judge, WALD and RUTH BADER GINSBURG, Circuit Judges,

join, dissenting:

In deciding this appeal, we are constrained to apply a specific statutory provision, section 706(k) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k) (1988), under which the District Court has broad authority to assess the reasonableness of a fee request. In the absence of legal error, the trial judge’s determination as to reasonableness may not be disturbed unless it is an abuse of discretion. Given this highly deferential standard of review, there…