Richlin Security Service Company v. Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security
Decided June 2, 2008. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 06-1717 · 553 U.S. 571 (2008) · Cited 271 times
Holding
A prevailing party that satisfies EA JA’s other requirements may recover its paralegal fees from the Government at prevailing market rates.
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.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Missouri v. Jenkins Ex Rel. Agyei · 491 U.S. 274 (1989)
- West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. v. Casey · 499 U.S. 83 (1991)
- Melkonyan v. Sullivan · 501 U.S. 89 (1991)
- Commissioner, Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Jean · 496 U.S. 154 (1990)
- Ruckelshaus v. Sierra Club · 463 U.S. 680 (1983)
- Sullivan v. Finkelstein · 496 U.S. 617 (1990)
- Scarborough v. Principi · 541 U.S. 401 (2004)
- Ardestani v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 502 U.S. 129 (1991)
- United States Department of Energy v. Ohio · 503 U.S. 607 (1992)
- Smith v. United States · 507 U.S. 197 (1993)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Federal Aviation Administration v. Cooper · 566 U.S. 284 (2012)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2008). 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).