Kay v. Ehrler et al.
Decided April 16, 1991. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 90-79 · 499 U.S. 432 (1991) · Cited 485 times
Holding
A pro se litigant who is also a lawyer may not be awarded attorney's fees under 1988.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 9–0.
Majority · 9
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- McNeil v. United States · 508 U.S. 106 (1993)
- Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Dept. of Health and Human Resources · 532 U.S. 598 (2001)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1991). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).