Donovan Blissett v. Sgt. Casey, Sgt. Greene, Timothy Mulhall, and A. Connors, R.N. Medical Dept.

LEVAL, Circuit Judge:

This appeal raises the question whether the attorneys’ fee provisions of the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA” or “Act”), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(d), must be applied to all awards of attorneys’ fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 in prisoner civil rights litigation made after the effective date of the Act. Plaintiff Donovan Blissett prevailed in an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The district court awarded him fees under § 1988 and rejected defendants’ contention that the PLRA provided an obligatory limit on…