Can the general public view CM/ECF cases and the documents in those cases?
Access to view cases and documents in CM/ECF is available to anyone with a PACER login and password. A PACER account may be obtained at: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/register.html. However, documents filed before August 15, 2002 may not be available on-line. Documents may also be viewed at the Clerk’s Office in the Gene Snyder Courthouse via public computer terminals. Back to General category Back to top.
A. Access to view cases and documents in CM/ECF is available to anyone with PACER login and password. PACER offers convenient electronic access to case file documents, listing of all case parties, reports of case related information, chronologies of events entered in the case record, claim registers, listing of new cases, judgments or case status, and a calendar of events. However, as a result of the policy recently adopted by the Judical Conference, the public cannot view documents filed in Civil Social Security Appeal cases or Criminal cases. To defray the costs of PACER and CM/ECF, the Judicial Conference has set a fee of 8-cents per page for electronic court data via the internet, except for calendar information, for which there is no charge. Parties entitled to documents as part of the legal process receive a free electronic copy, although they will be charged for replacement copies, whether in paper or electronic form. Information concerning PACER can be found on the Court’s webs
Yes, the public can access case data in CM/ECF unless it has been sealed by the Court. The public access component of CM/ECF will require a user to enter a PACER login and password. The general public can also go to the Court and use the systems available in the Clerk’s Office to access any un-sealed cases. Please note that, both through PACER and the Clerk’s Office, there is a charge for this service.
