In the case of Roadway Express, Inc. v. Piper et al., 1979, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that federal courts have discretion to award attorney's fees against attorneys who act in bad faith by prolonging litigation with vexatious actions regardless of whether they are representing themselves or a client. The court held that such sanctions could be imposed under its inherent power and did not require explicit statutory authority. This decision was based on an appeal from a lower court ruling which had ordered two lawyers to pay more than $17,000 for expenses incurred due to their misconduct during a lawsuit against Roadway Express Inc., including filing unnecessary motions and refusing reasonable settlements.

In the dissenting opinion for Roadway Express, Inc. v. Piper et al., Justice Powell argued that the majority's decision to uphold a district court’s imposition of costs on attorneys personally was an overreach of judicial discretion and contrary to traditional American legal principles. He contended that such sanctions should only be applied in cases where there is clear evidence of bad faith or willful misconduct by attorneys, not merely because they pursued weak or losing arguments. In his view, this ruling could have a chilling effect on lawyers' willingness to take on difficult or controversial cases out of fear they may be held personally liable for their clients’ litigation expenses if unsuccessful - potentially undermining access to justice for many individuals and groups who rely on these types of representation.