United States v. Johnson

565 F. Supp. 895, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16312

• Court: District Court, E.D. Wisconsin
• Decided: June 12, 1983
• Docket: No. 81-CR-2
• Status: Published

Opinion

DECISION ON ATTORNEY’S FEES

REYNOLDS, Chief Judge.

William M. Coffey, court appointed attorney for Raymond Leon Johnson, has filed two vouchers for attorney’s fees for the two trials in which he represented Raymond Leon Johnson. The clerk’s office consolidated the two vouchers onto one. The total amount of attorney’s fees he seeks is $5,930.

Mr. Coffey’s representation of Johnson was extended and complex. The defendant was charged with kidnapping. The first trial resulted in a hung jury; the second resulted in a guilty verdict.

I have also examined the hours that Mr. Coffey expended in this case, and they appear reasonable with one exception. He calculated the amount of hours spent in court for trial on the basis of an eight hour day. In fact, the trial days were not that long. Further even though he should be, he is not entitled to compensation for time spent waiting for the court to convene.

The minute sheets show the trials running during the following hours:

First trial:

5/19/81 10:45-12:50 (2.2) 1:45-4:35 (2.9)

5/20/81 9:20-12:10 (2.9) 1:55-4:40 (2.8)

5/21/81 9:20-12:20 (3) 2:00-5:00 (3)

5/22/81 9:25-11:55 (2.5)

5/26/81 9:35-9:40 (0.1) 11:00-12:15 (1.3)

1:40-5:00 (3.4)

5/27/81 9:10-11:55 (2.8) 1:35-4:30 (3.0)

5/28/81 10:40-11:24 (0.8) 2:00-2:25 (.5)

2:50-5:15 (2.5)

7:15-7:25 (.2)

Second trial:

9/8/81 9:50-10:05 (1.3) 2:30-2:40 (.2)

9/9/81 9:45-11:55 (2.2) 1:50-3:25 (1.6)

9/11/81 9:40-12:00 (2.4) 1:55-4:45 (2.9)

9/14/81 9:40-11:50 (2.2) 1:40-5:00 (3.4)

9/15/81 9:45-12:05 (2.4) 2:00-5:00 (3.0)

9/16/81 9:30-12:00 (2.5) 1:15-4:00 (2.8)

9/17/81 9:50-10:30 (.7) 3:00-3:30 (.5)

6:25-6:55 (.5)

Total hours for first trial: 33.9 hours

Total hours for second trial: 28.6 hours

Coffey’s voucher for the first trial claimed 48 hours, and his voucher for the second trial claimed 56 hours. Thus 14.1 hours must be subtracted for the first trial and 27.4 for the second trial. At $30 an hour, the 41.5 hours correction necessitates a deduction of $1,245 from his requested fee. Thus, I recommend an attorney’s fee be approved in the amount of $4,685.