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Keeping Up with Electronic Docket and Document Retrieval
 By Paul Bush
October 22, 2001
The days of dialing into a slow, unsophisticated, court electronic bulletin board
in order to obtain case dockets are over. Not only can the public now obtain dockets
via the internet from most Federal District, Bankruptcy, and Appellate
courts, but an increasing number of state courts and other agencies are also offering case information
online. In addition, the number of imaged litigation
and bankruptcy case documents available on the world wide web is quickly
increasing and is expected to gain acceptance over traditional methods of document retrieval. PDF is the format of
choice, with TIFF and other formats
being utilized to a much lesser degree.
There are a wide variety of web-based systems that can be used to access case information.
Some case information systems are administered by the government such as Web Pacer,
CM/ECF and Racer®
, while other third-party vendors such as CourtLink and CourtExpress
offer identical case information,
with the addition of many useful features, functions, bells and whistles.
Both the
government and commercial systems have undergone various improvements
and advancements over the last few years; the most pronounced being the
significant increase of the total number of courts now accessible online. The
two
types of systems tend to have more similarities than differences, but with so
many new web resources now available, it can be difficult to keep up with the
ever changing technology.
Learning which courts are available and how to access their case information
will allow your firm to fully utilize the capabilities of electronic research.
Obtaining dockets and document images via the internet can improve efficiency
and lower costs when conducting case research and monitoring.
Federal Government Systems
Web Pacer
Web Pacer is available for most federal courts. It is easy to use, fast, and
inexpensive. There are no monthly maintenance charges or account activation
fees. This system
allows courts to offer docket and document image data
through a clean, reliable interface. Most Web Pacer court dockets are centrally
indexed within the Pacer U.S.
Party/Case Index database.
Results from this
database are linked to corresponding dockets in most Web Pacer, CM/ECF
and Racer court web sites.
CM/ECF
This system appears to be similar to Web Pacer at first glance, but is more
sophisticated allowing electronic case filing, automated emailing, in addition to docket and document image retrieval. CM/ECF will largely accelerate and
strengthen the somewhat slowed implementation of electronic case filing in the
US. The Pacer service center has recently dedicated a portion of its web site
to CM/ECF. This system is scheduled to replace every federal courts'
internal
docketing system by 2005.
Racer
Racer is a product created by Wade Systems, LLC. This system resembles Web Pacer and CM/ECF, also offering
case dockets and document images.
Other products of Wade allow for electronic filing and other internal court
docketing.
So which is better? What do people prefer?
An informal *poll
held on Legal Dockets Online suggests Web Pacer is the
system of choice for researchers, followed by Racer, and CM/ECF. Although
it
is likely researchers do prefer using Web Pacer, the results seem to be related
to the number of courts available for each system. So the results of this poll may
simply be reflecting availability as opposed to preference.
Web Pacer, CM/ECF, and Racer are all inexpensive fast web-based methods of obtaining case dockets and
document images. Their availability and
reliability have been improved, as well the Administrative Office of the US
Court's billing procedures and customer support.
One particular function to be aware of is the "Universal Login" feature. Once
you login to any of these three systems, your client/matter will not change unless
you specifically change it, even when accessing different courts.
Some major features of Web Pacer, CM/ECF, and Racer
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Web Pacer
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CM/ECF
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Racer®
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Jurisdictions available*
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Most Federal District, Bankruptcy,
and Appellate Courts, with some exceptions including NYSD and CA2.
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AKB, AZB, CAND, CASB, DCD,
DEB, GANB, LAMB, MIWD, MOWD, MOWB, NYED, NYSB, NCWB, OHND, OHNB, ORD,
TXWB, VAEB, and WAWB.
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ALSD, ARED, CAED, GASB, DEB,
HIB, IASD, IASB, IDD, IDB, MOEB, NVB, NJB, NCEB, NDB, OKND, OKNB, OKEB, PAMD,
PRB, TXND, VAWB, VTD, WAEB, and WYB.
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Document images available?
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Yes, for cases filed in the
following courts: ALND, CACB, CASD, CASB, CTB, FLSD, GASD, IANB, KSB, LAED,
LAMD, LAWD, LAWB, MAD, MAB, NCEB, NCMB, NCWD, PAMB, RIB, SCB, SDB, TXEB, TXSD,
TXSB, UTB, VTB, WAWD, WVNB, WVSD, WVSB, and WIWB.
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Yes, all courts.
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Yes, all courts.
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Searchable database of cases?
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Yes, the U.S. Party/Case Index is
a consolidated listing of cases from most web Pacer courts searchable by Nature
of Suit, litigant, filing date, and SSN/TIN for bankruptcies.
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Yes, most courts are indexed
in the USPCI database.
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Yes, most courts are indexed
in the USPCI database.
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Administered by the Administrative Office of the US Courts?
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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PACER account required?
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Yes, including the USPCI database,
EXCEPT KYWD, AKD (via email), and ARWD (via email).
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Yes, except: NMD and NMB require
an separate "ACE" account.
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Yes, except DEB, HIB, IDD,
IDB, NJB, NCEB, PRB, VAWB, WAEB still do not require an account.
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Cost
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.07$ per page, including document
images, EXCEPT: KYWD, AKD (via email), and ARWD(via email) are still free.
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.07$ per page, including document
images.
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.07$ per page, including document
images, EXCEPT: DEB, HIB, IDD, IDB, NJB, NCEB, PRB, VAWB, WAEB, are still free.
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*
New courts will continue to be added.
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State Case Information Systems
The federal courts have traditionally led the way in public electronic case information
access. But now many state level courts are upgrading their technology and
offering web-based criminal and civil case information as well.
The different state court databases are not unified under one system such as web
Pacer, but instead are designed and maintained individually by separate commercial
vendors and court personnel. There are too many new state court databases
to mention in this article, but I would like to mention several states that have
the greatest number of courts offering free public case information access.
California, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Wisconsin maintain case information
from various courts including: Circuit, Common Pleas, County, and Municipal.
These and many other state courts are often also accessible using many third-party
vendors. As with federal courts, electronic case filing and retrieval is slowly
gaining momentum in acceptance and usage. In addition to federal and state
courts, various "case" information is also now available online free of charge from
the United States Tax Court, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
and the
Department of Transportation.
Third-Party Vendors
With direct web access case information systems available, why would you use a commercial
web site to obtain dockets and document images for you? Third-party vendors
such as CourtLink and CourtExpress, access the same federal court databases Pacer,
CM/ECF, and Racer do, but also provide additional state court jurisdictions and
more robust functionality. CourtLink and CourtExpress are currently
the two most comprehensive sites primarily focused on electronic docket and document
retrieval. These vendors focus on "one stop shopping", offering a system that
combines web-based docket , document retrieval, and filing, with traditional methods
of research and retrieval. Like the previous government systems, these services
have more similarities than differences.
CourtLink
CourtLink's CaseStream® is a web-based service that enables
users to customize a large array of personal preferences to retrieve relevant case
information for over 850 federal, state and local courts. The latest upgrade
of this eAccess service consolidated many functions, added jurisdictions and adjusted
various search costs. The upgrade, called "mycasestream®"
is the successful combination of many different databases and functionality created
by CourtLink and its former competitor MarketSpan. Within CaseStream, "Alert"
and "Track" features can be set up to automatically notify a user of newly filed
court records/cases as well as new case activity. Users can also request electronic
documents from a court, or through CourtLink's partnerships with document retrieval
companies, the document can be sent to the user via traditional means. CourtLink
currently offers the largest number of federal and state web-based court dockets
of any third-party vendor. In addition, CourtLink also offers a web service
for electronic case filing, CourtLink eFile, it obtained when they merged with JusticeLink,
Inc., developer of the electronic filing service and a middleware product for courts.
CourtExpress
CourtExpress provides docket access to many federal courts and Connecticut state
courts, allowing users to search, find and retrieve current case information. Their
additional search tools: "RainMaker", "ClientWatch" and "Due Diligence", allow users
to track new cases by a combination of subject matter, party names and time period.
Dockets and complaints can be pushed to users for any new cases filed. A recent
additional enhancement, "ClearCase", is a searchable database of federal district
court dockets in New York, and is expected to add additional jurisdictions.
CourtExpress also offers document images from select federal district and bankruptcy
courts. Additionally, document copies can be ordered and tracked online from
any courthouse in the country. They provide these documents by utilizing their
long existing nationwide document retrieval business, formerly known as RIS.
Some major features of CaseStream and CourtExpress
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CaseStream®
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CourtExpress
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Jurisdictions Available*
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Most Federal District, Bankruptcy,
and Appellate Courts, and many state courts including: DE Chancery, New York Supreme
& County Clerk, as well as state courts in AZ, CA, CT, FL, MD, MO, NJ, NC, OR,
TX, WA, and WI. full listing
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Most Federal District, Bankruptcy
and Appellate Courts and: US Supreme Court, US Tax Court, and CT state courts.
For full listing go to CourtExpress
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Document images available?
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Yes for cases filed in the
following courts: ALMB, ARED, AZB, CAND, CACB, CASB, CTB, DEB, DCD, GANB, IDD, IDB,
IANB, IASB, ILNB, LAMB, LAWB, MAB, MEB, MOWD, MOWB, NYED, NYSB, NCEB, NCMB, NCWB,
OHND, ORD, PAMB, PRB, SCB, TNMB, TXEB, TXMB, TXSB, UTB, VTB, VAEB, WAEB, WAWB, WVNB,
WVSB, WIWB, WYB.
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Yes, for cases filed in the
following courts: ALND, CAEB, CACB, CASD, CTB, DEB, FLSD, GASD, INND, LAED, LAWD,
MAD, MAB, NCWD, TXND, TXEB, VAEB, WVSD, WVNB, TXSD.
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Full text searchable docket database?
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Yes, "Historical" allows full
text searching of most Federal District and Bankruptcy Courts, for which dockets
are available.
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Yes, "ClearCase" allows full
text searching in all NY federal district courts and is expected to add more jurisdictions.
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Online document ordering?
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Yes, document orders are forwarded
to various retrieval companies you choose.
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Yes, documents are retrieved
by CourtExpress, and orders can be tracked using CaseTrack.
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Docket tracking and alerting?
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Yes
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Yes
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Other tracking and alerting?
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Yes, track by subject matter,
litigants, attorneys, judges, bankruptcy chapters and debtors.
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Yes, track by subject matter,
and litigants.
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Cost
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Complete Explanation
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Partial Explanation
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Extras
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Additional courts are available
from customer service.
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"Legal Billing Reports" and
"Expert Witness Service."
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*
New courts will continue to be added.
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< Additional Third-Party Vendors
In addition to CourtLink and CourtExpress there are many other third-party vendors
offering case information on the web. Two in particular I would like to highlight
are
CourtAlert and Virtual Docket®.
These sites are focused on providing case information in New York and Delaware respectively.
CourtAlert
CourtAlert provides access to civil court dockets (for free), decision images, calendar,
judge information and case tracking for the New York Supreme Court in thirteen counties.
This site downloads case information from the Supreme Court and NY County Clerk
four times daily and alerts users when a change occurs. These alerts are delivered
throughout the life of a case via email, fax or PDA. Their "Suggested Watch
List" automatically suggests cases to track for which your firm has appeared
in. In addition, CourtAlert will be providing electronic decision tracking
and document retrieval for New York Federal District Courts next month. Read the
detailed announcement
(pdf)
Virtual Docket
Virtual Docket provides access to unofficial dockets (for free) and many document
images in Delaware District, Bankruptcy, Chancery, and Supreme Courts. Virtual
Docket is one of several services provided by Parcels, Inc. and is
clearly the largest provider of Delaware court document images on the internet today.
Conclusion
It's easy to see that the technology of federal courts, state courts and commercial
vendors is rapidly improving, expanding and evolving. When litigation and
bankruptcy case dockets or documents are needed, obtaining them can easily be achieved
with the click of a mouse. Additionally, web-based case information retrieval
and filing can possibly reduce the need for paper, accelerate the legal process
and lower your client's bills.
As court administered and commercial vendor web sites continue to improve and add
jurisdictions, the question becomes not "if" case information is available online,
but "where" it is available online. Being able to quickly access this type
of case information will allow your firm to have several options when researching
and monitoring litigation and bankruptcy cases.
But with technology and convenience comes responsibility. Privacy concerns
are always heightened when increasing exposure to public records. Just as
new technology involving court records is being introduced and implemented, additional
definitions and boundaries for what is "public", and how data is accessed,
will also continue to be redefined. So what is now accessible online may not
necessarily always be available online, such as certain criminal and bankruptcy
information.
Public records, and specifically case information has been available from many different
sources on the internet for many years and is being widely utilized by attorneys,
court personnel, and others. Who the providers are and what exactly
is made available is constantly changing. Keeping current with court technology,
research methods and online tools may just allow your firm to obtain case information
before your adversary, clients, or even future clients do.
*
Poll was conducted on home page from 8/11/01 - 11/8/02. WP (172) 48%, Racer
(32) 9%, CM/ECF (40) 11%, Don't have a
PACER account (113) 32%.
357 total votes.
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