The Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976 is a law of the United States. It is often referred to as "Section 1988". It allows a Federal court to award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing party in certain civil rights cases.
The Phelps Chartered law firm has collected fees for defending the Westboro Baptist Church, which has picketed at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as churches, temples, schools and colleges.
The House of Representatives passed a bill entitled the "Public Expression of Religion Act" on September 26, 2006. Were this bill to become law, it would amend Section 1988 to disallow the awarding of attorneys' fees to prevailing parties in Establishment Clause cases.
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