It just became a little cheaper and a little easier to access public court filings through PACER (the Public Access to Court Electronic Records), thanks to RECAP, an open-source Firefox plug-in designed to create a free secondary archive of PACER materials.
Court filings contained in PACER are public documents, and are, in theory, open to the public. But, in the past, the fact that these materials were either maintained in individual courthouses or,… More
In an April 2009 press release (.pdf), the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system (“PACER") announced that 99% of all federal courts nationwide have implemented electronic systems allowing litigants to file and review documents online. The near-complete implementation of these online systems marks an important technological and environmental milestone for the legal profession; however, it comes with considerable risks to individuals’ privacy and security: potentially limitless filings that inadvertently contain individuals’… More