Martin v. Blessing

The Center initially objected to this settlement because, among other problems, its value to class members did not justify the $13M attorneys’ fees request.  Ultimately, though, in its petition to the Supreme Court the Center challenged the district court judge’s practice of requiring that plaintiffs’ attorneys “reflect . . . relevant race and gender metrics.” The Supreme Court declined to review this case, with Justice Samuel Alito writing that, “I am hard-pressed to see any ground on which [this] practice can be defended,” and “the uniqueness of this practice weighs against review by this Court.”