NEWS RELEASE

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

Single Phone Call Accesses Variety of Court Data

Basic information about most civil, criminal, bankruptcy, and appellate cases filed in federal court is now available through a novel electronic callup system that is easily accessible to the public.

For the first time, users will be able to determine with a single call whether a debtor has filed bankruptcy in federal court, where the case was filed and when, the case number, and the chapter of the bankruptcy code under which the case was filed. Similar information may be accessed about most other court cases.

The system was designed by and is managed by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. "I am pleased that the Administrative Office has recognized the needs of the public and responded promptly with a costefficient and easy-to-use system," said Leonidas Ralph Mecham, the agency's Director. "The Administrative Office continues to be at the forefront of emerging technologies, and is quick to craft and utilize such resources in order to satisfy the public's growing desire to access useful court data."

The U.S. Party/Case Index will allow users to search nationwide by name or by Social Security number in the bankruptcy index, by name and nature of suit in the civil index, by defendant name in the criminal index, and by party name in the appellate index. Some courts will include both current and historic case information.

A subset of the U.S. Party/Case Index, the Prisoner Litigation Index, allows searches for prisoner petitions filed in multiple court jurisdictions by the same prisoner. Each match will provide the name of the prisoner, the court where the petition was filed, the case number, the filing date, the nature of suit, and the date the case was closed—if appropriate. The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 prohibits prisoners from filing additional IFP (in forma pauperis) petitions if three have already been dismissed on the grounds that they were frivolous, malicious, or otherwise failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. This new index will assist courts in tracking such cases.

The federal Judiciary is in its eighth year of offering various electronic public access services to court information. The U.S. Party/Case Index represents the latest development in the popular PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system. Previously, users had to call up each court separately to check case information. Now a national or regional search can be conducted with a single call.

Users can access the index by modem 24 hours a day, including weekends, by calling a tollfree telephone number. A valid log-in and password are required and the standard $.60 per minute PACER fee applies.

Persons desiring to use this service must first register with the PACER Service Center at 18006766856.

Created in 1939, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts provides administrative, legal, management, and program support and services to federal courts nationwide. The agency is located in Washington, D.C.