The records of U.S. federal courts are available though the paywalled Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system, which has been called “costly, outdated and difficult to navigate.” A new version of “The Open Courts Act” would instruct the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to develop a new system to replace PACER. The Judicial branch has, in the past, argued strongly against bills that would remove the paywall and make the system easier to use.
– Free PACER: Senators take another stab at revamping access to federal court records, by Benjamin S. Weiss, Courthouse News Service (June 2, 2026).
Louisiana Senator John Kennedy and Oregon Senator Ron Wyden have unveiled legislation they say will force the judiciary to completely overhaul PACER and replace it with a modern, centralized public repository for court documents.
GPO’s govinfo.gov system has a collection of United States Courts Opinions dating back to April 2004.
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