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PACER in the Spotlight

Two posts on yesterday's beSpacific blog highlight PACER and the attention recently focused on the for-fee service. The first post directs readers to the PACER spending survey directed to law libraries related to the law librarians' petition to improve PACER. The survey respondents included fifty-eight law firm libraries and sixty-six law school libraries. In 2008, the firm libraries spent on average $13,068.48 on PACER while the law school libraries spent on average $656.74 on PACER. The law firms don't usually impose restrictions on PACER use, while the law libraries generally do.
The other beSpacific post reports a draft working paper from Stephen Schultze at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard. The Electronic Public Access Fees and the United States Federal Courts' Budget study is also related to the fee-generating function of PACER. While the paper is in draft, its purpose is stated as urging "reconsideration of how the Judiciary might more closely align its information management practices with modern technology, practices of the other branches, and public expectations." The draft report summarizes the sometimes varying statements about the uses of PACER revenues, and argues that the policy of government transparency should eliminate PACER fees.

Full post as published by Utah District Court Blog on September 10, 2009 (boomark / email).