William Rehnquist

“ I also disagree with the State's suggestion that law clerk and paralegal expenses incurred by a prevailing party, if not recoverable at market rates as "attorney's fees" under § 1988, are nonetheless recoverable at actual cost under that statute. The language of § 1988 expands the traditional definition of "costs" to include "a reasonable attorney's fee," but it cannot fairly be read to authorize the recovery of all other out-of-pocket expenses actually incurred by the prevailing party in the course of litigation. ”

“ And since a prudent attorney customarily includes compensation for the cost of law clerk and paralegal services, like any other sort of office overhead-from secretarial staff, janitors, and librarians, to telephone service, stationery, and paper clips-in his own hourly billing rate, allowing the prevailing party to recover separate compensation for law clerk and paralegal services may result in "double recovery." ”

“ It is not, however, a persuasive reason for us to rewrite the legislation which Congress has in fact enacted. See Badaracco v. Commissioner, 464 U.S. 386, 398, 104 S.Ct. 756, 764, 78 L.Ed.2d 549 (1984) ("Courts are not authorized to rewrite a statute because they might deem its effects susceptible of improvement") . ”