Court Records Should Be Free
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is advocating for the Open Courts Act of 2026, which aims to eliminate fees for accessing federal court records via the PACER system. Proponents argue that public access to legal documents is essential for democratic accountability.
Why it matters
The legislation addresses the tension between government cost-recovery models and the public's right to access judicial information.
Court records belong to the public. Yet anyone seeking access to federal court filings through PACER, a government software system that stands for Public Access to Court Electronic Records, is usually required to pay hefty fees to search for and view documents. PACER’s fees have long acted as a barrier that makes it hard, especially for low income people, to see and understand the work produced by our own public servants.
The article aligns with the advocacy position of the EFF, focusing on public access and criticizing current government fee structures.
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