The District will have to fork over more than $1 million to pay for fees accrued by opposing attorneys in a historic gun rights case that was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Although it’s no chump change, the figure is closer to D.C.’s estimates for the fees rather than the roughly $3 million the opposing attorneys had asked for.
The award was for a years-long legal battle over the city’s ban on private gun ownership. In 2003, Dick Heller sued the city over the ban and the Supreme Court overturned the law in 2008, saying it violated the Second Amendment.
A federal judge on Thursday issued in a 65-page opinion in which Heller’s attorneys were awarded $1.14 million. Attorneys for the city had previously said the fees should total $840,000.
