Accessing justice starts with being able to access the courts and documents filed therein. The U.S. Federal Courts System utilizes online filing for all of its cases, whether they be civil, criminal, bankruptcy or related to patents. This system is called PACER: Public Access to Court Electronic Records. Attorneys and their legal assistants will file records through the use of CM/ECF: Case Management/Electronic Case Files which is the Federal Judiciary’s comprehensive case management system attached to PACER. While only attorneys barred in that specific federal court house may file documents onto the docket using CM/ECF, everyone may access the documents through PACER. Understanding how to research, use and access PACER is an extremely valuable skill. It will allow the user to research persons and entities in support of background searches, obtain court documents which could be used to understand a case or for examples, as well as watch important cases develop, such as those before the U.S. Supreme Court. For this assignment you will complete PACER Training. Please note that while anyone may create a PACER Account with a valid credit card, you are not required to do so for this assignment. PACER training is free and once you have completed training, you will be able to add this valuable skill to your resume. Please read through the entire assignment before beginning.
First, please complete PACER Training at the following website: https://www.pacer.gov/announcements/general/train.html
After completing the PACER Training at the link above, explore the PACER website: https://www.pacer.gov/
Proceed to the Court Links page under the Find a Case tab on https://www.pacer.gov/ and find the U.S. District Court that has jurisdiction over you based upon your residence (Jacksonville NC). If you are out of the country, please select the court in the jurisdiction most closely related to where you last resided. Click on the website for that court’s CM/ECF log-in to explore.
Next, you must answer all of the below questions. Your answers should be supported by further research and citations to your sources. Your answers must be detailed and specific, using complete sentences.
1. Who can access PACER?
2. How much does it cost to view/retrieve one (1) page or conduct a search even if no matches are found? What is the maximum amount you will be billed for a single document?
3. What is the maximum amount of money your account must reach before you will be billed or your fees will be waived?
4. What can you view and research on PACER?
5. What type of information is protected from the public’s view and inaccessible on PACER?
6. What is PACER’s definition of In Forma Pauperis status?
7. Beyond written documents (pdf), docket lists and transcripts, what is the one other type of medium you can access on PACER?
8. What type of non-attorneys may register to e-file?
9. What is the PCL and what happens each night?
10. What information does a Docket Report provide?
