Short Circuit 144 | PACER Charges and Publicly Charged Universal Injunctions

What brings all lawyers together? Hatred of PACER. Some nonprofits challenged the fees the federal courts charge for accessing court filings on the electronic records system. And they won. Kind of. But this doesn’t mean you get to stop paying to see legal documents. This week Diana Simpson explains the history of accessing court documents via modem, where those fees go, and how the Federal Circuit interpreted some obscure statutory language. Also, Congress has never defined the term, but for well over a century Congress has barred immigrants who are likely to become a “public charge.” Can the Department of Homeland Security adopt a definition of the term that will render way more people inadmissible? The Fourth Circuit said yes, and went on to opine on the continuing controversy over “nationwide injunctions.” Adam Shelton discusses that case, as well as a couple other recent cases from the Second Circuit—on the exact same issue—and a different injunction case from Puerto Rico.

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Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Short-Circuit-144-Transcript.pdf
National Veterans Legal Services Program v. United States, http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinions-orders/19-1081.OPINION.8-6-2020_1631951.pdf
A Week of Universal Injunctions, https://ij.org/cje-post/a-week-of-universal-injunctions/