Arlington Central School District Board of Education v. Murphy
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''Arlington Central School District Board of Education v. Murphy'', 548 U.S. 291 (2006), was a
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case about
expert An expert is somebody who has a broad and deep understanding and competence in terms of knowledge, skill and experience through practice and education in a particular field. Informally, an expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable s ...
s' fees in cases commenced under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA was ...
(IDEA). Justice
Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...
, writing for the majority, ruled that IDEA does not authorize the payment of the experts' fees of the prevailing parents. Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
concurred in part, and in the judgment. Justices David Souter and
Stephen Breyer Stephen Gerald Breyer ( ; born August 15, 1938) is a retired American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 until his retirement in 2022. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton, and repl ...
filed dissents.


Background

The respondents, Pearl and Theodore Murphy of
LaGrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaNew York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, sued the petitioner,
Arlington Central School District The Arlington Central School District (abbreviated ACSD) is one of thirteen public school districts serving residents of Dutchess County, New York. Organization Coverage area The district's territory covers substantial parts of the Towns of Bee ...
, seeking to require them to pay for their child's
private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
tuition Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...
under IDEA.Poughkeepsie Journal
June 27, 2006
The Murphys were successful, and the decision in their favor was upheld on appeal. The Murphys and their attorney,
David Vladeck David C. Vladeck (born June 6, 1951) is the former director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission, an independent agency of the United States government. He was appointed by the chairman of the FTC, Jon Leibowitz, on ...
, then sued to require that the School District pay for the experts' fees incurred in the course of the trial. The District Court held that part of the fees were covered under the law, and required the School District to pay them. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, but acknowledged that other Circuits had ruled differently. The Supreme Court granted ''
certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...
'' to resolve the differences between the circuits.


Issue

IDEA allows a court to "award reasonable
attorneys' fees Attorney's fee is a chiefly United States term for compensation for legal services performed by an attorney (lawyer or law firm) for a client, in or out of court. It may be an hourly, flat-rate or contingent fee. Recent studies suggest that when l ...
as a part of the costs." The issue to be decided was whether this includes experts' fees.


Parties' arguments

The School District said that the
plain language Plain language is writing designed to ensure the reader understands as quickly, easily, and completely as possible. Plain language strives to be easy to read, understand, and use. It avoids verbose, convoluted language and jargon. In many countri ...
of the statute should govern, ''i.e.'' that "attorneys' fees" means only those fees paid for an attorney's services. The Murphys argued that the word "costs" is more important, and that the plain meaning of "costs" includes the cost of hiring an expert witness.


Opinion of the Court

Justice Alito, writing for the majority, ruled that the ability to award attorneys' fees does not include the ability to award experts' fees. "Costs," the Court wrote, is a
term of art Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a particu ...
that generally does not include either type of fees. To add attorney's fees to costs is exceptional under
American law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as va ...
, which is why it was written into the statute. That change of the court's power does not affect its power over experts' fees. Furthermore, relying on previous cases, the Court said that without clear notice to the states, a statute cannot require that a certain fee shall be assessed against the state. In response to the Murphys' contention that the
legislative history Legislative history includes any of various materials generated in the course of creating legislation, such as committee reports, analysis by legislative counsel, committee hearings, floor debates, and histories of actions taken. Legislative his ...
suggests that experts' fees should be included, the Court stated that because the statute's actual wording is unambiguous, there is no need to consult outside sources. In addition, the fact that the Act authorized a
GAO Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
study of the effect of awarding costs does not change the actual wording of the Act, which does not so award them.


Concurrence

Justice Ginsburg concurred in part with the decision, and concurred in the judgment. She disagreed with the way the Court applied the "clear notice" requirement, but found the rest of the ruling to be correct.


Dissents


Breyer's dissent

Justice Breyer dissented from the Court's ruling, and was joined by Justices Stevens and Souter. Stating that the statute is not unambiguous, and relying on the
legislative history Legislative history includes any of various materials generated in the course of creating legislation, such as committee reports, analysis by legislative counsel, committee hearings, floor debates, and histories of actions taken. Legislative his ...
, Breyer wrote that the term "costs" was intended by Congress to include the cost of hiring expert witnesses. He also wrote that the "Act's basic purpose" dictates that the award of all costs, including experts' fees, be allowed. He rejected the application of the "clear notice" rule.


Souter's dissent

Although he had also joined Justice Breyer's dissent, Justice Souter dissented separately to write that certain
GAO Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
studies authorized by IDEA give weight to Breyer's arguments and distinguish this case from those the majority cites.


Theoretical Distinction

The majority opinion, written by Justice Alito, followed a textualist statutory interpretation. Textualist judges seek to locate "shared conventions" inherent within the statutory language, often turning to textual "canons of construction" that "reflect broader conventions of language use."


Subsequent developments

In 2009, Congressmen Chris Van Hollen and
Pete Sessions Peter Anderson Sessions (born March 22, 1955) is an American politician from Texas who is the U.S. representative for Texas's 17th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for ...
introduced the
IDEA Fairness Restoration Act The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act is an American legislative proposal first introduced in the United States House of Representatives on November 14, 2007 as H.R.4188. The bill was most recently reintroduced on March 17, 2011 in the Senate as S.613 ...
, to override ''Murphy'' and enable parents to recover their expert fees.IDEA Fairness Restoration Act HR 418

introduced June 2009.
The bill was reintroduced in 2011 by Senator
Tom Harkin Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa' ...
, Chair, Senate Health Education and Labor Committee, and Congressman Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Peter Sessions.AnalysisIFRA
Autism National Committee. Analysis, IDEA Fairness Restoration Act. Retrieved 18 April 2011.


References


External links

* {{caselaw source , case = ''Arlington Central School District Board of Education v. Murphy'', {{ussc, 548, 291, 2006, el=no , cornell =https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/05-18.ZO.html , courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/145629/arlington-central-school-dist-bd-of-ed-v-murphy/ , findlaw = https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/548/291.html , googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3710960681408767889 , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/548/291/ , oyez =https://www.oyez.org/cases/2005/05-18 , other_source1 = Supreme Court (slip opinion) , other_url1 =https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/05pdf/05-18.pdf United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court United States education case law 2006 in United States case law 2006 in education United States disability case law