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Legal Dockets Online

A resource for researchers seeking news and information about electronic filing and public record retrieval. Authored by Paul Bush, who is the President of Professional Law Technologies, LLC - the provider of Legal Dockets Online. He is also an Electronic Services Analyst for New York's Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.

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Last Entry: November 12, 2009 at 16:52:00

Utah State Courts Begin Electronic

Posted on November 12, 2009
Utah State Courts Begin Electronic FillingsAccording to the Davis County Clipper: The eFiling program, which began on Monday in the 2nd District, allows electronic filing, or interface, between the attorney filing the case and the court?s electronic filing system...

Chambers County, Texas District

Posted on October 15, 2009
Chambers County, Texas District Court E-Filing ImplementedTheanahuacprogress.com reports: Attorneys now have the ability to file civil documents in the District Courts electronically with eFiling for Courts. This service is offered to filers through the Office of the District Clerk, Patti L...

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th

Posted on October 09, 2009
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to Begin E-FilingAccording to their web site: The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will begin offering electronic filing to attorneys on a voluntary basis by the end of 2009.Registration for voluntary electronic filing began October 7, 2009...

RECAP?s Filings Lack Authenticity,

Posted on October 02, 2009
RECAP?s Filings Lack Authenticity, But Will This Change?RECAP, a plugin for Firefox that helps PACER users build a free repository of public court records, has received lots of press since it debuted for various reasons. I suspect many people are attracted to its principle of increasing government transparency and praise it, yet have never used it...

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U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC

Posted on September 02, 2009
U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Begins Mandatory Electronic FilingAll cases filed on and after September 1, 2009, will be assigned to the court?s CM/ECF system.The spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Dick Carelli, said two other federal appellate courts set up mandatory e-filing earlier this year?the 9th and 10th circuits...

Mississippi State Court E-Filing

Posted on August 28, 2009
Mississippi State Court E-Filing Access using CM/ECF PlatformPublic access to electronically filed court documents in Madison County ChanceryCourt became available on Thursday, August 27. The interface for the Mississippi Electronic courts (MEC) can be found here...

Courtport Announces its Launch

Posted on August 18, 2009
Courtport Announces its Launch of FreeCourtDockets.com with Free Pacer Docket AccessAnyone with Internet access can now retrieve Pacer dockets 100% free.Massapequa Park, NY ? August 18, 2009 ? Courtport, LLC, a legal research and technology company, today announced the launch of its free federal court docket retrieval site, FreeCourtDockets...

Senate Passes Legislation to Make

Posted on August 07, 2009
Senate Passes Legislation to Make New York State Court E-Filing PermanentThe State Senate Thursday passed a bill that makes permanent the court e-filing program. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan/Bronx), modernizes the court filing process by allowing more civil cases to be filed electronically...

TexasOnline Partners with nCourt

Posted on August 03, 2009
TexasOnline Partners with nCourt to Provide eFiling Services for Justice of the Peace CourtsBusinesswire.com reports: WOODSTOCK, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--nCourt, LLC, a leading provider of eFiling and payment solutions for lower courts, today announced that its eFiling system was selected through TexasOnline, the official online portal for the state of Texas...

Social Security Numbers Exposed

Posted on July 30, 2009
Social Security Numbers Exposed by Government Officials and Social NetworkingThe Wall Street Journal reports: Consumers who have spent hours locking up their passports, shredding their billing statements and filing away their tax returns may soon learn they've wasted a great deal of time...

Virginia's Statewide E-Filing System

Posted on July 17, 2009
Virginia's Statewide E-Filing System Making Progress, with Careful Implementationvalawyersweekly.com reports: Virginia Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. drew applause when he told a roomful of lawyers the state?s planned electronic filing system will be lawyer-friendly...

Wisconsin Appellate Court E-Filing

Posted on July 10, 2009
Wisconsin Appellate Court E-Filing Not Good For Litigants?Wislawjournal.com reports: The new rule requiring electronic filing of appellate briefs is now in effect, and practitioners are feeling their way through the process with some trepidation.Some appellate attorneys have experience in federal court, where e-filing is mandated, and they say the state system offers little benefit to litigants...

Hays County Civil District Court,

Posted on July 06, 2009
Hays County Civil District Court, Texas E-Filing BeginsSanmarcosrecord.com reports: As of Monday, attorneys in Hays and surrounding counties will have the ability to file civil documents in the Hays County District Courts electronically through eFiling for Courts, a service developed by TexasOnline, the official Web site of the State of Texas and offered through the Hays County District Clerk?s Office...

Internet Explorer Version 8 Not

Posted on June 26, 2009
Internet Explorer Version 8 Not Compatible with CM/ECFThe Northern District of New York has stated "This message is to inform you that Microsoft's recently-released Internet Explorer version 8 web browser is not compatible for use with CM/ECF. Neither the the PACER Service Center nor The Northern District of New York has a timeframe for when this new version will be certified for use with CM/ECF...

St. Louis County Minnesota Criminal

Posted on June 15, 2009
St. Louis County Minnesota Criminal Complaint E-Filing ProgressGovtech.com reports: Last March, the state began an electronic filing pilot, developed by Minnesota-based Intertech -- which allows an officer to complete the required paperwork from his home station...

New U.S. Courts PodcastsA new podcast

Posted on June 11, 2009
New U.S. Courts PodcastsA new podcast page on the federal judiciary web site gives users the choice of listening on their computer, subscribing via RSS feed, downloading the MP3 to import into any MP3 player, or subscribing via ITunes.Federal Courts Podcast Page Offers Listening Options

Don't Be Late E-Filing Your Notice

Posted on June 09, 2009
Don't Be Late E-Filing Your Notice of AppealHoward J. Bashman via law.com reports: Just last week, two different federal appellate courts disposed of separate cases in which parties alleged electronic filing-related tales of woe as the excuse for the untimely notice of appeal filed in each case...

Mandatory Wisconsin Supreme Court

Posted on June 02, 2009
Mandatory Wisconsin Supreme Court E-Filing Starts July 1David R. Schanker, clerk, Wisconsin Supreme Court, reports: Appellate e-filing is here. Beginning July 1, 2009, attorneys must electronically file a copy of all appellate briefs, no-merit reports, petitions for review, and responses...

Davidson County First to E-Filing

Posted on May 27, 2009
Davidson County First to E-Filing in a North Carolina Superior CourtDavidson and Chowan counties were chosen last year to pilot the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts e-filing system, and the first filing has been completed.The state?s first e-filing was made May 15 in Davidson County...

Kansas Supreme Court Appoints 32-Member

Posted on May 21, 2009
Kansas Supreme Court Appoints 32-Member Committee for Statewide E-Filing?While no one expects implementation of such a statewide program in the immediate future, it is important that we begin looking at how electronic filing could be implemented in the Kansas Courts,? Justice Luckert said in announcing the committee?s first meeting [to be held on June 3rd]...

First Cook County Circuit Court,

Posted on May 14, 2009
First Cook County Circuit Court, Illinois E-Claim FiledThe Clerk?s Office of Cook County?s Circuit Court, under the leadership of The Honorable Dorothy Brown, launched a new electronic filing system program that will allow attorneys to file cases and pleadings online in the commercial calendar section of the Law Division...

Electronic Filing: Technology,

Posted on May 07, 2009
Electronic Filing: Technology, Rules, and PrivacyShari Claire Lewis via reports: The ability to file documents electronically is a boon to lawyers, and a means of cutting costs for clients. And it seems clear that the Internet will be used in the future in a number of different ways in litigation matters...

Mandatory E-Filing for 151st Civil

Posted on April 21, 2009
Mandatory E-Filing for 151st Civil District Court of Harris County, TexasJudge Mike Engelhart reports: [The court] posted its ?Standing Order? on its website?s Court Procedures page requiring all documents in new lawsuits to be electronically filed. A link to the court?s standing order is posted on the procedures page...

More Federal Courts Offering Digital

Posted on April 15, 2009
More Federal Courts Offering Digital Audio Recordings OnlineThe Federal Judiciary reports: The pilot project to make digital audio recordings of courtroom proceedings publicly available online has been expanded, from five federal courts to nine, through the end of 2009...

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th

Posted on April 04, 2009
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit Begins ECFOn March 31, 2009, the court started accepting voluntary ECF filings. On June 1, 2009, ECFwill become mandatory for counsel of record. Read the order here. The 10th circuit includes Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.

Want to Share Your Opinion of PACER?Pacer

Posted on April 02, 2009
Want to Share Your Opinion of PACER?Pacer wants to know. According to the April quarterly announcement: In 2009, the Federal Judiciary's Electronic Public Access Program will begin a year - long, comprehensive program assessment. The goal of the assessment is to identify potential enhancements to existing services and new public access services that could be provided...

New Jersey Civil Court Mandatory

Posted on March 23, 2009
New Jersey Civil Court Mandatory E-filing for Some Starting in May of 2010Law.com reports: E-filing in the Special Civil Part has been such a success on a voluntary basis that it's being made mandatory -- at first for frequent filers and at length for most court users...

Posted on March 02, 2009

Posted on February 27, 2009

Public Record Abuse: Intentionally

Posted on February 21, 2009
Public Record Abuse: Intentionally Making Burdensome Requests to The GovernmentWe all know about how identity thieves can take advantage of the increasing number of public records being made available online. But how about making public records requests to government agencies knowing that they cannot comply to collect fines? Sounds time-consuming, but not if you have nothing but time, while you serve out your prison sentence...

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th

Posted on February 18, 2009
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit Now Using CM/ECFFinally, the 5th circuit COA is using CM/ECF. To file, go here. To access dockets and filings with a PACER account, go here. I'm not sure it's fully functional yet, so you may still have to use the clunky webPACER interface here, to get case information...

California State Court: E-Filing's

Posted on February 04, 2009
California State Court: E-Filing's Effect on Filing Notice of AppealsBruce Nye on calbizlit.com writes: In this era of electronic mail, what does it mean that the court clerk "mails" a document? Particularly when the court has established procedures for service through the court's electronic filing system? We now have conflicting answers to that question, as explained after the jump...

Mississippi to Launch Statewide

Posted on January 15, 2009
Mississippi to Launch Statewide E-Filing for State CourtsThe Mississippi state supreme court has adopted rules and procedures for electronic case filing. A pilot project for the development of an electronic filing and case management system is already underway in Madison County Chancery Court, which is based upon the successful federal court CM/ECF system...

CM/ECF Implementation Update--So

Posted on January 05, 2009
CM/ECF Implementation Update--So Which Court are Left?The Federal Judiciary reports that CM/ECF is being used in 99% of all federal courts. However the following courts have still not completed implementation:-U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern Mariana Islands-U...

Mandatory E-Filing in Philadelphia

Posted on December 31, 2008
Mandatory E-Filing in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Civil Division Starting MondayThe Legal Intelligencer via Law.com reports: After years of planning and six months of optional e-filing, court leaders, court employees and the bar are preparing to make the move from a paper filing system to a mandatory computer-based, electronic system...

New Goodson Law Library Research

Posted on December 30, 2008
New Goodson Law Library Research Guide to Court Records and BriefsAlthough designed for Duke students, Jennifer L. Behrens has created this useful guide that contains helpful information for any legal researcher. The guide outlines compilations of records and briefs which are available at Duke, as well as sources and strategies for locating specific documents related to a particular case in the Goodson Law Library, LexisNexis, Westlaw, PACER, HeinOnline, and on the free web...

strongVermont State District Court

Posted on December 19, 2008
strongVermont State District Court Criminal Conviction Record Access Now Available Online/strongbr /Burlingtonfreepress.com reports: Each record currently costs $20 per request. On July 1, the cost will increase to $30 per request. Users may securely pay for the service with a credit card...

Viewing PACER Documents Downloaded

Posted on December 03, 2008
Viewing PACER Documents Downloaded with Firefox Work-AroundTechnoEsq reports: Firefox is gaining large ground against Microsoft?s Internet Explorer with Firefox jumping to a 20% market share while Explorer dropped to 69% for the first time since 1998...

PACER: 20 Years Old With Over 900,000

Posted on December 01, 2008
PACER: 20 Years Old With Over 900,000 User AccountsThe Third Branch Reports: Back in September 1988, the Judicial Conference authorized ?an experimental program of electronic access for the public to court information in one or more district, bankruptcy, or appellate courts in which the experiment can be conducted at nominal cost...

Are Audio and Video Recordings

Posted on November 17, 2008
Are Audio and Video Recordings of Court Proceedings Considered Court Records?Palmbeachpost.com reports: Don't believe your ears. That's essentially what a committee of Florida judges is asking the State Supreme Court to tell the public about recordings of court proceedings - that an actual court recording is not an official one...

Madison County, MS Could Be the

Posted on November 13, 2008
Madison County, MS Could Be the First State Court System in the Country to Utilize CM/ECFOnlinemadison.com reports: Madison County, Mississippi Chancery Clerk Arthur Johnston's office is currently testing the CM/ECF system, which is used by U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts...

Local Criminal Record Technology

Posted on October 24, 2008
Local Criminal Record Technology Continues to ImproveThe Sarasota County, FL Sheriff's office claims that by using Vinelink, the public can "Search for the current custody status of arrestees. Updated every 15 minutes." This is very surprising to me...

Free Pacer Access SuspendedThe

Posted on September 30, 2008
Free Pacer Access SuspendedThe Barco Law Library, University of Pittsburgh School of Law reports: Apparently the 2-year PACER pilot program begun in 2007 has been suspended. A notice went out that "GPO and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts undertook a pilot to provide free public access to Federal court records at 17 Federal depository libraries through (PACER) ...

Courtport, LLC Announces its Launch

Posted on September 16, 2008
Courtport, LLC Announces its Launch of www.Courtport.comMassapequa Park, NY ? September 16, 2008 ? Courtport, LLC is pleased to announce the launch of its LegalDockets.com successor site, Courtport.com. Courtport� is an effective public record portal designed for law librarians, paralegals, attorneys, investigators, and other professional researchers to complete due diligence on individuals and businesses...

One Legal Announces Expansion of

Posted on September 15, 2008
One Legal Announces Expansion of Online Court Filing ServiceLitigation Professionals Can Now File Court Documents in Nine States Using OneLegal.comNOVATO, CA, September 15, 2008 - One Legal LLC, the pioneer and leader in online court services, today announced the expansion of its online court filing service to eight additional states...

Another Great Function of CM/ECF

Posted on September 12, 2008
Another Great Function of CM/ECF - Victim NotificationThe Federal Judiciary reports: Through a cooperative effort, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the Executive Office of the United States Attorneys have developed a system that can automatically send crime victims and their families information from federal courts' Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) systems...

Online Legal Research Usage Up;

Posted on September 08, 2008
Online Legal Research Usage Up; Free Legal Research Surpasses Fee-Based ServicesThe Law Librarian Blog reports: According to the ABA?s 2008 Legal Technology Survey Report, 96% of private sector lawyers perform legal research online, up from 79% in 2003...

California Electronic Filing Projects

Posted on September 04, 2008
California Electronic Filing Projects in Superior CourtsI stumbled upon this California Judiciary page that lists (presumably) all electronic filing programs in California Superior Courts. Unfortunately it does not say when the list was last updated, but it may be a useful bookmark for our California readers...

Hurricane Gustav Court Closure

Posted on September 03, 2008
Hurricane Gustav Court Closure UpdateThe Federal Judiciary reports: Several federal courts remained closed today, and some for the remainder of the week, due to the effects of Hurricane Gustav.In New Orleans, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will remain closed through Friday, September 5th, with the court reopening for business on September 8, 2008...

Several Federal Courts Closed Due

Posted on September 02, 2008
Several Federal Courts Closed Due to Hurricane GustavThe federal Judiciary reports: Three federal courthouses in New Orleans had to be evacuated, including the John Minor Wisdom U.S. Courthouse, the primary home of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit...

Free Academic Access for LegalDockets.com/Courtport.comMany

Posted on August 28, 2008
Free Academic Access for LegalDockets.com/Courtport.comMany teachers, students, etc. currently maintain a free subscription to Legal Dockets Online (www.LegalDockets.com). We are now in the process of rolling out our new successor site, www.Courtport...

U.S. District Court for Maryland

Posted on August 08, 2008
U.S. District Court for Maryland Starts E-Filing Criminal Cases TodayThe court reports: Electronic Filing in Criminal Cases is here -- Beginning August 8, 2008, documents in criminal cases will be filed electronically. Click HERE to link to the Criminal Procedures Manual...

Fastcase Aims to Disrupt the Wexis

Posted on August 03, 2008
Fastcase Aims to Disrupt the Wexis DuopolyThis is an intesrting interview with Fastcase's CEO and President that took place on Fox Business.

Free Criminal Record Searches?We

Posted on July 28, 2008
Free Criminal Record Searches?We have seen it before. You find a site which claims to let you search for a person's criminal background for free. You put in a name hit the search button, and then get directed to a page with very little information and an option to buy records...

The Virtual Chase Closing Down?Genie

Posted on July 24, 2008
The Virtual Chase Closing Down?Genie Tyburski, Web Manager of The Virtual Chase reports: To paraphrase Shakespeare, the inaudible and noiseless foot of time passes almost without notice. Indeed, the past 12 years, spent writing about research strategies and resources, flew by in no small part because of the fun I had doing it...

One Legal Launches Nationwide Process

Posted on July 16, 2008
One Legal Launches Nationwide Process ServingAccording to their press release: One Legal LLC, the pioneer in online court services, today launched nationwide process serving to provide legal professionals with reliable, time-sensitive process serving throughout the U...

Federal Court Online Availability

Posted on July 15, 2008
Federal Court Online Availability of Transcripts and HearingsThe July 2008 Pacer quarterly newsletter reviews the current status of audio file and transcript availability using CM/ECF (PACER):Transcripts of federal district and bankruptcy court proceedings that have been ordered by a party and produced by the court reporter or transcriber, and have been delivered to the Clerk's office, will be available for public inspection for 90 days...

Maryland State Court EFiling Moving

Posted on July 14, 2008
Maryland State Court EFiling Moving Forwardmddailyrecord.com reports: The Maryland judiciary will press ahead with its effort to create a statewide paperless, electronic case-management system ? which would include electronic filing and distribution of court documents ? despite mixed results regarding the e-filing of litigation documents in Anne Arundel and Baltimore City circuit courts, said State Court Administrator Frank V...

Cases of Interest: Does Your Firm

Posted on June 27, 2008
Cases of Interest: Does Your Firm Have Any? An Invitation to Law Firms. LegalDockets.com (and soon to be officially released successor site Courtport.com) maintains a collection of over 10,000 links to valuable public record sources in several categories...

Wisconsin Court of Appeals Moving

Posted on June 25, 2008
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Moving Towards Mandatory Electronic FilingMilwaukee Federalists reports: The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on June 19, 2008 filed a Petition with the Supreme Court for rules changes requiring appellate counsel to file an electronic copy of all appellate briefs and no-merit reports...

When Technology Really Helps: Iowa

Posted on June 13, 2008
When Technology Really Helps: Iowa Federal Court Flooded, but CM/ECF IntactThe Federal Judiciary Reports: The United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa has implemented a staged Continuity of Operations (COOP) response to the flooding in downtown Cedar Rapids and has closed the court site located at 101 First Street S...

Legal Dockets Online Expands Portal

Posted on June 10, 2008
Legal Dockets Online Expands Portal Adding Thousands of New LinksI'm happy to report that we have expanded the focus of our portal to now include Property, Recordings, UCCs/Liens, Business Entity Records and Licenses, Court Rules, and Forms.This expansion provides attorneys and other professional researchers a greater variety of access to critical public records needed to complete comprehensive due diligence for investigating people and businesses...

Legal Dockets Online Starts Promotional

Posted on June 03, 2008
Legal Dockets Online Starts Promotional Subscription SaleFor a limited time only, we are now offering access to our public record portal for the low price of $49 for a single user for the first year. This is the lowest annual subscription price we have ever offered to new users...

US Court of Appeals for the Fourth

Posted on May 28, 2008
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Mandatory EFiling Starts June 1Beginning June 1, 2008, attorneys are required to file documents electronically [using CM/ECF] in all cases. Appendices, vouchers, and case-initiating documents (petitions for review, mandamus, permission to appeal) are excepted from electronic filing and are to be filed in paper format...

US Search Fined $250,000 in Penalties/Costs

Posted on May 26, 2008
US Search Fined $250,000 in Penalties/Costs for Selling Sensitive Credit Bureau DataPibuzz.com reports that the NY Attorney General determined that US Search illegally accessed the consumer information more than 2,385 times. If they sold each report for 100 bucks that would just cover the fine and penalties...

Illinois Supreme Court Plans for

Posted on May 23, 2008
Illinois Supreme Court Plans for a Unified E-filing System StatewideBryan over at The Connect Lawyer reports that a press release came out today with a few details of the plan with a 3 - 5 year implementation time frame.A Step in the Right Direction

NY Eastern District Court Transcripts

Posted on May 14, 2008
NY Eastern District Court Transcripts Coming OnlineThe court reports: Effective May 15, 2008, the Eastern District of New York, in accordance with Judicial Conference Policy and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 and Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49...

CM/ECF Now In Use In 99% of Federal

Posted on May 07, 2008
CM/ECF Now In Use In 99% of Federal CourtsThe federal judiciary reports: CM/ECF systems are now in use in all 94 district courts, 93 bankruptcy courts, the Court of International Trade, the Court of Federal Claims, 9 courts of appeals, and 4 Bankruptcy Appellate Panels...

California's Plans to Consolidate

Posted on April 23, 2008
California's Plans to Consolidate its Superior Court Case Management StatewideIn a press release by the CA Administrative Office of the Courts, an explanation and time frame is given estimating the public will be able to access statewide superior court case information online by the summer of 2010...

Beware of Fake Grand Jury Subpoena

Posted on April 16, 2008
Beware of Fake Grand Jury Subpoena EmailsThe Federal Judiciary reports: Reports have been received of bogus e-mail grand jury subpoenas, purportedly sent by a United States District Court. The e-mails are not a valid communication from a federal court and may contain harmful links...

Wisconsin State Courts Moving Towards

Posted on April 15, 2008
Wisconsin State Courts Moving Towards Electronic FilingWislawjournal.com reports: The state Supreme Court last week adopted in principle, a petition to implement a voluntary e-filing system in Wisconsin, which means attorneys and pro se litigants will soon be able to log on, rather than run out to file case information...

In Honor of National Library Week,

Posted on April 14, 2008
In Honor of National Library Week, Free Access to AllIn honor of National Library Week, please enjoy free access to Legal Dockets Online beginning today, and ending on April 20.http://www.LegalDockets.comLOGIN: nlwPASSWORD: freeNo forms or surveys to fill out, no emails will be sent to you...

Centralized U.S. Appellate ECF

Posted on April 09, 2008
Centralized U.S. Appellate ECF Filer Registration Now AvailableRegistration for Appellate ECF is separate from and in addition to registering for PACER. PACER registration grants you access to view docket reports and documents from a court's database, while ECF registration will enable you to file documents electronically...

More U.S. Appellate Courts Now

Posted on April 02, 2008
More U.S. Appellate Courts Now Providing CM/ECF Pacer AccessWhen fully implemented, CM/ECF (with a Pacer account) provides the public access to court case docket sheets and filings, allows attorneys to file electronically, court clerks to enter docket entries, and enables electronic noticing...

New Jersey Court Record Internet

Posted on April 01, 2008
New Jersey Court Record Internet Access Being DebatedThe New Jersey Law Journal via Law.com reports: A proposed rule that would make most state court records available via the Internet is drawing broad opposition, with some critics saying it takes transparency too far and others saying it doesn't go far enough...

Oklahoma State District Court Filings

Posted on March 12, 2008
Oklahoma State District Court Filings Made Inaccessible to Internet UsersNewsOK.com reports: In a case decided on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, the Supreme Court said individual pleadings and other recorded documents filed in state court actions shall not be publicly displayed on the Internet...

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth

Posted on March 07, 2008
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Now Using CM/ECFSo far they just have the "CM" in place, with the "ECF" still under development. Now instead of using the PACER interface, to access dockets users must go here. BAP docket access is here. Instructions for receiving electronic notices are here.

State Courts E-Filing Patchwork

Posted on February 26, 2008
State Courts E-Filing Patchwork Frustrates LawyersThe National Law Journal Reports via Law.com: Cook County, IL is one of many U.S. counties, including San Diego in California and Kings in New York, that hasn't kept pace with 21st century technological advances that have enabled electronic systems to come to some state courts, such as Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona and the district courts of Harris County in Texas...

Reed Elsevier to Acquire ChoicePoint,

Posted on February 21, 2008
Reed Elsevier to Acquire ChoicePoint, Inc. for $4.1 Billion in CashReed Elsevier, the parent company of LexisNexis (which owns Accurint) continues on with their aggressive monopolistic-like acquisition of competing companies. From their press release: Reed Elsevier to acquire ChoicePoint for a total cost of $4...

Free PACER Federal Court Filing

Posted on February 04, 2008
Free PACER Federal Court Filing RepositoryI stumbled upon this interesting site, pacer.resource.org, which is run by public.resource.org, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The premise is that as federal court filings are purchased from PACER by the public, they can then be "recycled" by everyone on the web, by uploading them into a free shared database...

Illinois Supreme Court Now Offering

Posted on January 29, 2008
Illinois Supreme Court Now Offering Oral Argument Video and AudioThe court reports: On-Demand video of oral arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court is available in Windows Media format. Audio is available in MP3 format. Audio podcasts are also available...

All U.S. District Courts Now Using

Posted on January 06, 2008
All U.S. District Courts Now Using CM/ECF, With the Addition of the Western District of WisconsinAlthough not quite ready to accept ECFs yet, finally, the last of 94 federal district courts, the Western District of Wisconsin, has began using CM/ECF. It has been a long road in this process beginning many years ago...

Maine State Courts Inch Towards

Posted on January 03, 2008
Maine State Courts Inch Towards Online AccessKennebecjournal.mainetoday.com reports: The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has assembled an eight-member working group, led by Justice Andrew Mead of Bangor, to come up with a plan for putting court documents online while ensuring that confidential pieces -- such as Social Security numbers and medical records -- remain confidential...

LexisNexis Courtlink Sued in Georgia

Posted on December 28, 2007
LexisNexis Courtlink Sued in Georgia for its File & Serve FeesLaw.com reports on December 13 plaintiffs attorney Steven J. Newton filed a potential class action alleging that File and Serve is illegal. The defendants are LexisNexis Courtlink Inc., Fulton County State Court Chief Clerk Mark N...

The PACER U.S. Party Case Index

Posted on December 11, 2007
The PACER U.S. Party Case Index Now Includes All Federal District and Bankruptcy CourtsSo what federal courts are currently not available on the USPCI?U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, SECOND CIRCUITU.S. COURT OF APPEALS, FIFTH CIRCUITU.S. COURT OF APPEALS, SEVENTH CIRCUITU...

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th

Posted on December 06, 2007
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit Now Using CM/ECFSo far they just have the "CM" in place, with the "ECF" still under development. The following is posted on their site:On November 13, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit implemented the Appellate Case Management Electronic Case Filing System (CM/ECF)...

Free Access to New Jersey Superior

Posted on December 05, 2007
Free Access to New Jersey Superior Court Dockets for Attorneys with E-Filing AccountsThe New Jersey Judiciary reports: Effective immediately, attorneys who are registered users of JEFIS have access to ACMS for information on DC docket-type cases free of charge...

PACER U.S. Party/Case Index Video

Posted on December 04, 2007
PACER U.S. Party/Case Index Video Tutorial on The Virtual ChaseSit back and watch the USPCI demo here. TVC reports: We are experimenting with audio and video for research training purposes. Currently, you will find MP3 audio files for select research articles...

Useful Federal Court Electronic

Posted on November 30, 2007
Useful Federal Court Electronic Filing TipsThe Lawyer's Right Hand outlines some basic but important concepts including picking the correct event, filing proposed orders, dealing with certificates of service, naming attachments, and good docketing practices...

Privacy Rules for Federal Court

Posted on November 27, 2007
Privacy Rules for Federal Court Filing and Electronic Access Firming UpThe Federal Judiciary Reports: New rules providing privacy protection for case files posted online in the federal district, bankruptcy and appellate courts are scheduled to take effect December 1, 2007...

Travis County, TX District Court

Posted on November 25, 2007
Travis County, TX District Court Among the Leaders in E-FilingStatesman.com reports: Rather quietly, the office of district courts in Travis County recently saw its 20,000th court case filed electronically, scanned and stored its millionth page and collected its millionth dollar in electronic filing fees...

Keyloggers Infiltrate Pacer and

Posted on November 24, 2007
Keyloggers Infiltrate Pacer and CM/ECF UsersThe U.S. District Court for the District of Utah reports: The threat of keylogging continues and CM/ECF users are not immune. According to a recent internal memo, over 100 PACER and several dozen CM/ECF filer accounts have been compromised by keyloggers this year nationwide...

Sacramento Superior Court E-Filing

Posted on November 14, 2007
Sacramento Superior Court E-Filing and Access Begins; Statewide System by 2012Although a case index and online probate filings have been available for some time, the court has expanded to now include electronic filing and online document retrieval for civil cases...

Free Access to PACER Now Available

Posted on November 09, 2007
Free Access to PACER Now Available at 16 Libraries in 14 StatesThe Federal Judiciary reports: Free public access to federal court records is available at 16 libraries in 14 states under a joint pilot project of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the Government Printing Office...

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Posted on November 07, 2007
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Will Now Accept Emergency E-Mail Filings in Death Penalty CasesChron.com reports: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said Tuesday it will accept emergency e-mail filings in death penalty cases in an effort to avoid a repeat of the nationally controversial execution of Michael Richard...

Could Electronic Case Filing Have

Posted on October 30, 2007
Could Electronic Case Filing Have Saved Michael Richard's Life? Part IIDallasnews.com reports: More than 300 members of the Texas bar joined a petition last week asking Judge Keller's court to adopt modern procedures and allow e-mailed filings in death penalty cases...

The PACER Quarterly Newsletter

Posted on October 17, 2007
The PACER Quarterly Newsletter is AvailableOf interest: As reported previously, the Digital Audio Pilot Project was launched in August and includes Bankruptcy Courts for ALND, ME, NCED and District Courts for NE and PAED.This pilot will last 6-12 months and cost only $...

Could Electronic Case Filing Have

Posted on October 12, 2007
Could Electronic Case Filing Have Saved Michael Richard's Life?Law.com reports: Twenty Texas lawyers have joined in a complaint to be filed with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct against Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller for closing the CCA clerk's office at 5 p...

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th

Posted on October 09, 2007
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th and 10th Circuit Go Live on CM/ECFSo far they just have the "CM" in place, with the "ECF" still under development. The following are notices posted on each of these court's websites:The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Sixth Circuit have begun using the Federal Judiciary's Case Management-Electronic Case Files computer system know as CM-ECF...

Madison County, MS to Begin State

Posted on October 04, 2007
Madison County, MS to Begin State Court E-Filing PilotThe Madison County Journal reports: Madison County has been chosen to conduct a pilot program that will determine whether electronic filings systems used by federal courts (CM/ECF) in Mississippi can also be utilized in state courts...

Wisconsin's Democratic State Lawmakers

Posted on October 03, 2007
Wisconsin's Democratic State Lawmakers Trying to Stop Citizens from Viewing State Court Records OnlineThe Wisconsin State Journal Reports: The opponents of open records are at it again. This time, four Democratic state lawmakers are trying to stop ordinary citizens from viewing Wisconsin court records online...

Bronx County Civil Court Records

Posted on September 27, 2007
Bronx County Civil Court Records Now AvailableIn addition to Auburn City Court, Kings County Civil Court, and Queens County Civil Court, New York's UCS WebCivil Local database now includes the Bronx. more on this database

Transcripts of Federal Court Proceedings

Posted on September 18, 2007
Transcripts of Federal Court Proceedings Nationwide To Be Available On CM/ECFThe Federal Judiciary Reports: The Judicial Conference of the United States today voted to make transcripts of federal district and bankruptcy court proceedings available online through the Judiciary's Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system...

PACER's Popularity Continues to

Posted on September 14, 2007
PACER's Popularity Continues to Increase Resulting in Court Staff ChangesThe Federal Judiciary Reports: The success of the federal judiciary's Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is well documented: Hundreds of millions of pages of court documents retrieved online each year by customers who numbers are approaching 750,000...

The Federal Judiciary is Seeking

Posted on September 11, 2007
The Federal Judiciary is Seeking Comments on Internet Access to Criminal Case Plea AgreementsUscourts.gov reports: The Court Administration and Case Management Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States is studying these issues so the Conference can develop policy guidance for the federal courts...

New Jersey State Court E-Filing

Posted on September 03, 2007
New Jersey State Court E-Filing and Public Record Access ProgressingNj.com reports: New Jersey's digital courthouse is a work in progress.Through the Internet, you can pay a traffic ticket or watch a state Supreme Court argument. But you can't look up criminal records or divorce cases...