Chastek Blawg

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If you are looking for electronic court filings and do not have access to subscription databases like Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg Law, you might use PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records).   Although accessible to the public, documents on Pacer are also behind a paywall, but a class action case currently on appeal may result in some changes to this model.      The class action case involving the National Veterans Legal Services Program and other nonprofit groups seeking to recover “excessive Pacer fees” is now on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.   The case, initially filed in 2016, argues that Pacer charged fees much higher than the law “E-Government Act of 2002” allows.   Although not required, the law does allow the judiciary to charge fees to access court records “only to the extent necessary” for services.   At a time when it is easier and less costly than ever (a fraction of a penny per page) to provide electronic resour