Senators Push for Free Access to Online Federal Court Records

The Senate Judiciary Committee is pushing for the government to remove digital paywalls for online court records, opening free access to the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system, also known as PACER, reports the Courthouse News Service. PACER charges users 10 cents per page and a maximum of $3 per document. The fees,  while small individually, can easily overwhelm people and organizations following even just one court case, especially when court filings and dockets often range from dozens to hundreds of pages and cases commonly drag on for years.

For low-income defendants and small organizations, the fees can present an insurmountable hurdle when it comes to accessing federal court documents that are meant to be public. In response, a bipartisan group of senators co-sponsored legislation to modernize the record system’s technology and remove online fees and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended Congress pass the Open Courts Act of 2021, also known as the “Free Pacer” bill. The legislation would also modernize PACER to streamline searches and update the program’s technology, which is already underway via the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Technology and search updates will be paid for by a temporary fee on some of the highest volume PACER users and the federal agencies that rely heavily on the system. Once its running, the bill gives a three-year timeline for a transition. Operational costs will come largely from annual appropriations to the Administrative Office.