Litigation Reimbursement Act

HR 5477, the Litigation Reimbursement Act, requires courts to automatically award attorney fees and litigation costs to winning parties in certain cases. It changes criminal case rules (amending 18 U.S.C. 3006A) so courts must award fees to defendants who win at trial and are not convicted, rather than allowing judges discretion. It also makes such fee awards mandatory in civil cases (amending 28 U.S.C. § 2412), replacing "may be awarded" with "shall be awarded" for prevailing parties. The bill directly affects individuals or entities that prevail in federal criminal trials resulting in non-convictions or in federal civil litigation. This is a procedural change to existing fee-shifting rules, not a substantive policy shift.