NCJ Number
130557
Date Published
1991
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Court practices for providing access to documents and the fees the court charges for making these copies are examined.
Abstract
Federal courts maintain written records of the judicial activity for each of their cases. These documents, beginning with the complaint that initiated the case and including all orders, answers, motions, and subpoenas filed throughout the duration of the case, are filed with the clerk of the court. Although all ten district courts contacted allow public access to their documents, procedures for providing the documents vary somewhat. The differences in the access procedures relate to acceptance of requests for documents by telephone, prepayment of fees, the availability of copying machines for public use, and acceptance of credit cards as payment. The basis for retaining standard court fees for copies of documents is that it serves as a deterrent to frivolous and irresponsible requests for copying services. It was found that some courts have instituted alternative procedures that enable requesters to obtain copies of court documents for substantially less than 50 cents. Besides being less expensive for the public, these alternatives ease the workload of the clerk's staff. Research should continue on the range of options the Federal courts are using to provide access to their documents.