Some Federal Court Cases to be Online |
| A recent action by the Judicial Conference
of the United States will give citizens more detailed access to federal civil and
bankruptcy documents on the Internet, but criminal case information will not be available
online. The issue of making criminal records available will be revisited in the next two years, according to a Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) FOI Alert. The new policy does not have a scheduled implementation date and no deadline for courts to comply. Not all federal courts have electronic access. The electronic records will only include cases that are filed after Sept. 19. Courts will not be required to electronically scan files from past or currently active cases. Access would be through the U.S. courts system’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) Internet service. PACER currently offers electronic information on court dockets, as well as federal court decisions. Users are required to register, establish an account and pay seven cents per page accessed. There is also a fee for search results. The standard for electronic access to civil and bankruptcy court case documents will be the same as for in-person courthouse access. |
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