The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled [pdf] that the NRA is eligible for reimbursement of attorneys’ fees from Chicago and Oak Park. That makes my day.
You may recall that the NRA had a case running in parallel to McDonald v. Chicago, and though they lost, they were later vindicated by Alan Gura’s victory in the Supreme Court. The ever-quotable Frank Easterbrook writes:
This litigation was over except for the entry of an injunction by the district court. Chicago and Oak Park capitulated, which made the exercise unnecessary. By the time defendants bowed to the inevitable, plaintiffs had in hand a judgment of the Supreme Court that gave them everything they needed. If a favorable decision of the Supreme Court does not count as “the necessary judicial imprimatur” on the plaintiffs’ position (Buckhannon, 532 U.S. at 605), what would?
Now, if Alan Gura could start getting his fees back, we’d be somewhat square.