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Service Center Ensures PACER Reliability During “Unbelievable” Growth in Public’s Use

      Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is a fast, economical way for the public to track federal cases, allowing retrieval of information whenever it is needed.

     "Virtually speaking, PACER keeps the court clerk's office open 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Ted Willmann, manager of the PACER Service Center in San Antonio.

     The reality: the electronic public access service begun in the early 1990s is a huge success. The PACER Service Center is one reason.

     "We're committed to ensuring uninterrupted, reliable support services and the development of quality, error-free software for the public and the courts," Willmann said. "We provide the public and the judiciary with centralized billing, registration, as well as developing and maintaining software and systems for electronic public access."

     In 1995, PACER accounts - held by law firms, libraries, government agencies, corporations, and individuals - totaled 20,028. By the end of 1998, the total had grown to 39,408.

      But the growth rate began to skyrocket in 1999, when the dial-up, modem-to-modem system took to the Internet. Today, there are 270,000 PACER accounts. "The growth rate continues at an unbelievable rate," Willmann said.

      The Service Center's staff of 15 handles some 5,000 e-mails each month, about half of them posing questions to which help desk staff members respond. Thousands of telephone calls each month also pose questions that range from the general to highly involved technical queries.

      When it began, PACER offered public access to court docket sheets only, but the advent of a new case management system that allows courts to manage electronic dockets has provided access to actual court documents as well.

      PACER offers electronic access to:

- Case file documents
- Listings of all case parties
- Reports of case-related information
- Chronologies of events entered in the case record
- Claims registries
- Listings of new bankruptcy cases
- Judgments or case status
- Nationwide party/case index.
     Users must register and receive a login and password. Registration is free. PACER fees are seven cents per page, and users are billed quarterly. The fee for accessing one document cannot exceed $2.10 no matter the number of pages it contains, and users who do not accumulate $10 in fees in a year are not billed.                

      More information about PACER is available at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov or by calling the PACER Service Center at 800-676-6856. E-mails to the center should be addressed to PACER@psc.uscourts.gov