10-Year Mark for PACER/ electronic federal case filing

The Federal Judiciary’s Case Management/Electronic Case Filing system (PACER) reaches the 10-year milestone this month, having heard more than 24 million cases in that period.

The electronic filing system, launched in Nov. 1995 when a team from the U.S. Court Administrative Office assisted the U.S. District Court in Northern Ohio process in excess of 5,000 document-intensive asbestos cases, is currently used by 85 district and 91 bankruptcy courts, some of the federal appeals courts, including those in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky; the Court of International Trade, and the Court of Federal Claims. Not all federal courts are fully operational at this point, but are expected to be by the end of next year. (See press release, list of participating courts, and overview)

Last month, the Judicial Conference issued a set of proposed rule amendments addressing public access to electronically filed case material which are intended to implement portions of the 2002 E-Government Act requiring federal courts to make those filings available online while not sacrificing privacy or security concerns. The public comment period for those amendments is until Feb. 15, 2006. (Additional information)