FedCtRecords is a mobile app for users to access their PACER accounts and locate federal court records and search the following information:The Illinois Supreme Court has adopted the public-domain electronic citation system for appellate opinions and discontinues publication of the official Illinois Reports and Illinois Appellate Reports. The contract for the official Illinois publications, currently held by West, expires July 31, 2011. The new electronic publication rule goes into effect on July 1, 2011. (cont)Also, a 3 Geeks and a Law Blog post on the same topic - Illinois Supreme Court Adopts New Official Citation System - “Oh, So Close!!”
The Existential Exercise of Finding State Court Materials Online
May 12, 2011 — Rachael Samberg
Recently, we’ve had the opportunity to explore the online availability of state superior court filings, both through commercial retrieval services (such as Lexis’ CourtLink or Westlaw’s CourtExpress), and the superior courts’ own websites. Sites like Justia are also incredible resources for obtaining select trial court documents, but our project instead examined more standardized provision of dockets and filings. (cont)
Of course, you can access court decisions from PACER at no cost.
The case against PACER: tearing down the courts' paywall
US law says that federal court records are in the public domain. So why do the courts still lock most of their official documents behind a paywall? Ars investigates.
By Timothy B. Lee
Last updated April 8, 2009 11:30 PM CT
New Patent Rocket Docket Rises in Wisconsin
Sheri Qualters
The National Law Journal
March 21, 2008
Patent attorneys are hailing the Western District of Wisconsin as the nation's newest so-called rocket docket, characterized by speedy trials and a jury pool friendly to patent holders. cont.
5th Circuit Restricts Trial Courts' Discretion in Venue Motions
John Council
Texas Lawyer
November 5, 2007
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has made it easier for defense attorneys to move their clients' cases out of the Eastern District of Texas.
The Oct. 25 mandamus opinion In Re: Volkswagen of America Inc. could stem the tide of tort suits filed in the district, which is popular with plaintiffs. The 5th Circuit ruled that a federal trial judge abused his discretion by not granting a defense motion to transfer venue to another district.
Bankruptcy Filings Drop 61 Percent in March 2007 12-Month PeriodThe news release also has links to various statistics you may download.
June 27, 2007
In the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007, 695,575 bankruptcy cases were filed in federal courts, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Compared to filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006, when bankruptcy cases totaled 1,794,795, this was a 61 percent drop in filings. The 12-month period ending March 31, 2006, included the surge in filings that occurred prior to the October 17, 2005, implementation date of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). [PL 109-8]
