... because you might be able to get those docs for free. Some people at Princeton University have unveiled a Firefox extension that aims to create a public repository of free federal/bankruptcy court records.* It's called RECAP -- which is PACER spelled backwards. PACER is the online court document retrieval service that charges 8 cents a page, with a ceiling of $2.40. (The records would be free if you were at the courthouse in person.)The Princeton people say lawyers use PACER the most, but I know journalists use it regularly too. Not sure how many others use it, but if the RECAP project works, the result will be greater public access to public records -- and they'll be free. That's really how it's supposed to work.
The project already has a repository of free records. But it says that collection will grow because of how the extension works. If you're signed in to PACER, and you download (and pay for) documents in a case, those docs will be automatically uploaded to RECAP's free public collection. If you search for a case and the docs are in the free collection, you'll see a blue 'R' icon, which allows you to get those documents for free. Theoretically, everyone contributes, everyone benefits.
Some people are already flagging potential problems, such as, could documents be altered somehow on their way to the free collection. So it might be best to proceed with caution, at least at first. But this project is a promising development in public access to public records.
*thanks to @opengovva on twitter for the tip about RECAP.
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