348
Opinion of the Court
son, 478 F. Supp. 1075, 1083 (1979), and concluded that the defendants' policies had denied the Glover plaintiffs their right of meaningful access to the courts, id., at 1096-1097. In 1981, the District Court entered a "Final Order" detailing the specific actions to be undertaken by the defendants to remedy the constitutional violations. Glover v. Johnson, 510 F. Supp. 1019 (ED Mich.). One year later, the court found that the plaintiffs were "prevailing parties" and thus entitled to attorney's fees under 42 U. S. C. § 1988 (1994 ed. and Supp. III). Glover v. Johnson, Civ. Action No. 77-71229 (ED Mich., Feb. 2, 1982), App. 103a.
In 1985, the parties agreed to, and the District Court entered, an order providing that the plaintiffs were entitled to attorney's fees for postjudgment monitoring of the defendants' compliance with the court's remedial decrees. Glover v. Johnson, No. 77-71229 (ED Mich., Nov. 12, 1985), App. 125a (Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for System for Submission of Attorney Fee). This order also established the system for awarding monitoring fees that was in place when the present dispute arose. Under this system, the plaintiffs submit their fee requests on a semiannual basis, and the defendants then have 28 days to submit any objections to the requested award. The District Court resolves any disputes. Ibid. In an appeal from a subsequent dispute over the meaning of this order, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed that the plaintiffs were entitled to attorney's fees, at the prevailing market rate, for postjudgment monitoring. Glover v. Johnson, 934 F. 2d 703, 715-716 (1991). The prevailing market rate has been adjusted over the years, but it is currently set at $150 per hour. See Hadix v. Johnson, 143 F. 3d 246, 248 (CA6 1998) (describing facts of Glover).
The second case at issue here, Hadix, began in 1980. At that time, male prisoners at the State Prison of Southern Michigan, Central Complex (SPSM-CC), filed suit under 42 U. S. C. § 1983 in the United States District Court for
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