Rep. Johnson Reintroduces Bipartisan Bill Modernizing Federal Court Records System to Make It More Accessible, Transparent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, today announced he introduced The Open Courts Act of 2021, which would modernize and secure the federal judiciary's court records system (called CM/ECF) and make federal court records freely available to the public.

The new system will provide a centralized, user-oriented, and easily searchable site to file and read court records and monitor docket activity. The bill includes a process to cover the costs of these long-overdue reforms without requiring new appropriations while also eliminating a paywall that has long shielded federal court filings from public view (PACER). Currently, the judiciary charges users 10 cents for every search of its online record repository and another 10 cents per page to download any court records once they have been located, resulting in over $145 million in annual costs to PACER users.

Rep. Darrell Issa (CA-50) co-introduced the bill, which is companion legislation to a bill introduced in the Senate by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) earlier this year.

"Modernizing and streamlining the federal courts' records system and eliminating the PACER paywall is long overdue," said Congressman Johnson. "The Open Courts Act levels the playing field for the public and the press by making court records as widely available as possible. How much money you have should not dictate your access to justice. This bill is bipartisan, bicameral, commonsense good government at its best."

"Public court records belong to the public – and finding and acquiring them should be both easy and affordable," said Congressman Issa. "The truth is, the PACER system is outdated and impractical, and it creates unjustified burdens for too many Americans. Reform is long overdue."

The Open Courts Act would:

• Require United States Courts to consolidate all federal court records into one integrated system for all 94 district courts and 13 circuit courts of appeals.
• Provide for the creation of a modernized, user-oriented, secure, and flexible court-record system responsive to the needs of all stakeholders.
• Make court records freely available to the public by eliminating the PACER paywall and ensure the public can easily search for, access, and download court records through a streamlined, updated user interface.
• Provide funding for making PACER free of charge without new appropriations.

A section-by-section analysis of the bill can be found HERE.

The bill can be found HERE.

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