Legal Definitions - PACER

PACER stands for Public Access to Court Electronic Records. It is an online system that provides the public with direct access to official documents and case information from federal courts across the United States. Essentially, PACER functions as a digital repository for federal court filings, enabling users to search for, view, and download court records such as complaints, motions, orders, and judgments.

Here are some examples of how PACER might be used:

• Scenario: A journalist is covering a high-profile federal antitrust lawsuit against a major technology company and needs to review the latest court filings.
  Explanation: The journalist would use PACER to access the official complaint, subsequent legal briefs, and any judicial orders issued in the case. This allows them to verify facts, understand the legal arguments presented by both sides, and report accurately on the proceedings directly from the primary source documents, without needing to visit the courthouse in person.
• Scenario: A small business owner is involved in a federal intellectual property dispute and wants to monitor the progress of their case.
  Explanation: Instead of relying solely on updates from their attorney or physically checking court records, the business owner can log into PACER. They can view the electronic docket to see new documents filed by either party, check for upcoming hearing dates, and access any judicial decisions or orders as soon as they are entered into the court system.
• Scenario: A legal researcher is studying trends in federal appellate court decisions related to environmental law over the past decade.
  Explanation: PACER provides the platform to search for specific types of cases, access the full text of appellate briefs and judicial opinions, and analyze the legal reasoning and outcomes across a large volume of relevant federal court cases. This allows for comprehensive research that would be impractical to conduct by manually reviewing physical records at multiple courthouses.