How to find the documents behind major cases?

Earlier this year, I spent a month covering the hearing of a dispute between Apple and Epic. The lawsuit was one of the largest antitrust cases in recent memory and brought to light disclosures about both companies and the larger tech industry, often in the form of legal filings. I (and other reporters) try to pick the most relevant details from these files for readers. But sometimes, the documentation itself is worth checking out. a site called Court Listener It makes it easier than it looks – if you know how to look.

US federal court documents are required to be publicly available through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system. But as a frequent user of PACER, I can confirm that this is a really frustrating system. Signing up is a hassle, doing a search or getting a single page of a document costs 10 cents, and all these expenses add up quickly when searching for information on a case. PACER is basically a video game loot box mechanic for the legal system.

This limits access to resources that can help people understand US law. and countless individual news reports are better. (Some journalists re-upload files and link via Scribd or DocumentCloud, but not every publication follows this practice.) It also blocks many things that are simply interesting or funny. Want to read about FBI agents hunting someone? possibly legendary A stash of gold stolen from the U.S. Treasury during the Civil War by a Separatist secret society and then hidden in a network of underground caverns? The court system has you covered. or take this is the final decision The Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against Facebook could include the most ominous statement ever written by MySpace and Friendster:

At the turn of our century, in the much earlier days of the internet, a number of websites began offering services known as “social networking” services.

if you want in the form Star wars boot scan:

Fortunately, there is an unofficial PACER workaround. Maintained by the non-profit Free Law Project, CourtListener hosts a free and open archive of millions of files. It includes court opinions, voices of oral arguments from hearings and something called. RECAP archive – this is where you will find many of the most interesting materials. This includes Long back and forth between Apple and Epicgovernment claims such as Cryptocurrency scam allegations against the late antivirus tycoon John McAfee and key legal decisions like a judge throwing the aforementioned Facebook antitrust lawsuit.

The RECAP archive is a large crowdsourced library. browser extension from the same name. When a user with the RECAP extension logs in to PACER and downloads a document, a copy of it is saved in the archive. Anyone can access it from there, whether they have the extension installed or not.

RECAP relies on PACER users sharing a file, so you often don’t get documents that no one is looking for. But if you’re reading about a lawsuit or major criminal case in the news, chances are good you’ll find the details in the archive. (One catch: PACER covers the federal court system, so if someone has been sued or charged at the state level, you’re probably out of luck.)

Navigating CourtListener can be a bit overwhelming. It’s helpful to search the RECAP archive by the name of one of the parties involved, then narrow your search by county or state with the “select jurisdictions” filter. For example, if you know that a company has been sued in California, you can select the four California counties under the “Federal Territories” tab. Sorting by “Newest Cases First” can be helpful for cases that have just been filed and criminal charges, and “Latest Documents First” may be good for cases that have yet to be settled. If you already have a document from a case, you can search for the case number listed at the top of each page and search for it as well.

When you click on a case, you get its document: a long record of everything that happened. At the top of the list you’ll likely find a complaint or an indictment containing the allegations against the defendant in the case. You may also see evidence such as a list of exhibits or email chains or pictures. Further below you can find orders where a judge makes a decision. If these documents have been uploaded to the archive, you will see a link to download the file. If not, RECAP can direct you to PACER if you have an account – in this case this Moreover great time for Install RECAP and start uploading.

It is important to remember that court documents are written for companies, individuals and agencies with a specific agenda and do not necessarily tell the full story of an event. (For example: The FBI could not find this secret gold.) While there are helpful resources such as authors and attorneys, interpreting them often requires background knowledge of certain terms and previous cases. Orin Kerr’s guide to read the opinion of a judge. Even so, they are a valuable tool for investigating some of the greatest stories. Boundary covers – and sometimes a lot of fun.