A class action lawsuit against the federal courts’ record keeping system, known as PACER (Public Access to Court Records), that began in 2016 has resulted in a unanimous decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the federal judiciary is overcharging for public access to online court records. The ruling affirmed a 2018 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle, which found that the fees exceeded the amount allowed by Congress and violated the law by charging for certain non-PACER expenses.
Federal Court records are organized and made available through the PACER (Public Access to Court Records) system, which requires users to sign up for an account and charges ten-cents-per-page for electronic access to records. The federal courts are allowed to charge for this access under a 2002 law (the E-Government Act) that permitted the courts to recoup costs “only to the extent necessary” to pay for “services rendered.” The class action lawsuit – filed by the National Veterans Legal Services Program, the National Consumers Law Center, and the Alliance for Justice – successfully challenged the ten-cents-per-page cost as higher than necessary to maintain the system.
While the plaintiffs sought to eliminate the PACER paywall, the court ruled that paywall could continue to exist. Users who download less than 300 pages — or $30 — in a three-month period are not charged and all users are able to download court opinions for free, according to the federal judiciary, which also offers waivers for some users.
Stay tuned for developments in this story, as the judiciary will be releasing a revised fee schedule in the near-future. There’s also been speculation that the judiciary could be on the hook for millions in refunds to long-time PACER users.
You can read our earlier blog on the lawsuit here and find a website related to the class action here.