Pace Manual Pacer-gov

Transcript

Public Access to Court Electronic Records PACER User Manual for ECF Courts Updated: April 2012 http://www.PACER.gov Quick Start 1. Establish a PACER account at http://www.PACER.gov. Click on Register. 2. Search for a case (PACER login and password required). a. If the location of the case is known, click on the Court Links entry in the Frequently Used box, which points to http://www.PACER.gov/psco/cgibin/links.pl. There, you can select the link for the court you want. After logging in at a CM/ECF site, select Query from blue tool bar to search by party name, case number, or another available search option. For a business, enter the company name (or part of it) in the last name field. b. You can search a broad range of courts when the specific location of a case is not known. Use the PACER Case Locator at https://pcl.uscourts.gov to search via a variety of search criteria, including the date the case is filed or dismissed, the state, all the courts in a circuit, and much more. 3. For documents available online, there is a link for the docket entry number or an icon next to the docket entry. If you access the Docket Report and do not see either, the documents are not accessible online and should be ordered from the Clerk's office. April 2012 i Quick Start ....................................................................................................................... i Chapter 1: Overview ....................................................................................................... 1 PACER Features ......................................................................................................... 1 PACER Benefits .......................................................................................................... 1 CM/ECF Features ........................................................................................................ 1 CM/ECF Benefits ........................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2: PACER Policies and Procedures..................................................................... 3 Chapter 3: Introduction to Electronic Public Access ........................................................ 7 PACER Fees ............................................................................................................... 7 Dockets ................................................................................................................... 8 Case Reports............................................................................................................ 8 Search Results ......................................................................................................... 8 Images ..................................................................................................................... 9 PACER Billing .......................................................................................................... 10 Billing Statement ....................................................................................................... 10 Billing Errors............................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 4: PACER Service Center Website ................................................................... 12 Register ..................................................................................................................... 12 Appellate Court E-File Registration ....................................................................... 13 District and Bankruptcy Court E-File Registration ................................................. 14 Manage My PACER Account .................................................................................... 15 Maintenance .......................................................................................................... 15 Payments ............................................................................................................... 17 Usage History ........................................................................................................ 17 Chapter 5: PACER Case Locator ................................................................................... 18 Court Database Updates ............................................................................................ 18 Search Capability ...................................................................................................... 19 Search Options .......................................................................................................... 19 Getting Additional Information on Cases ................................................................... 20 Basic and Advanced Searches.................................................................................... 21 All Court Types ......................................................................................................... 22 Appellate ................................................................................................................... 26 Bankruptcy ................................................................................................................ 28 Civil .......................................................................................................................... 30 Criminal .................................................................................................................... 32 Multi-District Litigation ............................................................................................ 33 Filter Results ............................................................................................................. 35 Download .................................................................................................................. 40 Court Information ...................................................................................................... 42 Statistics .................................................................................................................... 42 My Account User Options ......................................................................................... 43 Change Client Code ............................................................................................... 43 Billing History ....................................................................................................... 44 PACER Service Center .......................................................................................... 45 Logout ....................................................................................................................... 45 April 2012 ii Chapter 6: CM/ECF PACER ........................................................................................ 46 What You Need ......................................................................................................... 46 Availability ............................................................................................................... 46 Security ..................................................................................................................... 46 Information Updates .................................................................................................. 47 Saving a file .............................................................................................................. 47 Printing ..................................................................................................................... 47 Logging in ................................................................................................................. 47 Universal Login ......................................................................................................... 49 Exiting....................................................................................................................... 49 Chapter 7: U.S. District Courts (Civil or Criminal) for CM/ECF................................... 50 The Query Screen ...................................................................................................... 50 Query Options Menu ................................................................................................. 52 Alias ...................................................................................................................... 53 Associated Cases ................................................................................................... 53 Attorney ................................................................................................................ 53 Case File Location ................................................................................................. 53 Case Summary....................................................................................................... 53 Deadlines/Hearing ................................................................................................. 55 Docket Report ....................................................................................................... 55 Filers ..................................................................................................................... 57 History/Documents ................................................................................................ 57 Party ...................................................................................................................... 58 Related Transactions .............................................................................................. 58 Status..................................................................................................................... 58 U.S. District Court CM/ECF PACER Report Options ................................................ 59 Report Search ........................................................................................................ 59 Docket Sheet ......................................................................................................... 59 Civil Cases ............................................................................................................ 59 Judgment Index ..................................................................................................... 60 Criminal Cases ...................................................................................................... 60 Calendar Events ..................................................................................................... 61 Docket Activity ..................................................................................................... 61 Written Opinions ................................................................................................... 62 Utilities Menu............................................................................................................ 62 ECF Login ............................................................................................................. 63 Change Client Code ............................................................................................... 63 Change Your PACER Login .................................................................................. 63 Clear Default PACER Login .................................................................................. 63 Court Information .................................................................................................. 63 Review Billing History .......................................................................................... 64 Show PACER Account .......................................................................................... 64 Legal Research ...................................................................................................... 64 Logout ....................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter 8: U. S. Bankruptcy Courts for CM/ECF ......................................................... 65 The Query Screen ...................................................................................................... 65 April 2012 iii Query Options Menu ................................................................................................. 66 Alias ...................................................................................................................... 68 Associated Cases ................................................................................................... 68 Attorney ................................................................................................................ 68 Case Summary....................................................................................................... 68 Creditor ................................................................................................................. 70 Claims Register ..................................................................................................... 70 Creditor Mailing Matrix......................................................................................... 71 Deadline/Schedule ................................................................................................. 71 Docket Report ....................................................................................................... 71 Filers ..................................................................................................................... 73 History/Documents ................................................................................................ 73 Notice of Bankruptcy Case Filing .......................................................................... 74 Party ...................................................................................................................... 74 Related Transactions .............................................................................................. 74 Status..................................................................................................................... 74 U.S. Bankruptcy Court CM/ECF Report Options ....................................................... 75 Report Search ........................................................................................................ 75 Cases ..................................................................................................................... 75 Docket Activity Report .......................................................................................... 76 Docket Sheet ......................................................................................................... 77 Claims Register ..................................................................................................... 77 Creditor Mailing Matrix......................................................................................... 78 Calendar Events ..................................................................................................... 78 Written Opinions ................................................................................................... 79 Utilities Menu............................................................................................................ 79 CM/ECF Login ...................................................................................................... 79 Change Client Code ............................................................................................... 79 Change Your PACER Account .............................................................................. 80 Clear Default PACER Login .................................................................................. 80 Court Information .................................................................................................. 80 Review Billing History .......................................................................................... 80 View PACER Account Information ....................................................................... 81 Legal Research ...................................................................................................... 81 Logout ................................................................................................................... 81 Chapter 9: U.S. Courts of Appeals ................................................................................ 82 Search Options ...................................................................................................... 82 Docket Sheet by Case Number............................................................................... 82 Docket Sheet by Party Name ................................................................................. 83 Other PACER Options ............................................................................................... 83 PACER Service Center .......................................................................................... 84 New Login............................................................................................................. 84 Change Client ........................................................................................................ 84 Billing History ....................................................................................................... 84 Comment ............................................................................................................... 85 Appendix A: Nature of Suit Code List ........................................................................... 87 April 2012 iv CONTRACT ............................................................................................................. 87 REAL PROPERTY ................................................................................................... 87 TORTS...................................................................................................................... 87 Personal Injury ...................................................................................................... 87 Personal Property................................................................................................... 88 BANKRUPTCY ........................................................................................................ 88 CIVIL RIGHTS ......................................................................................................... 88 IMMIGRATION ....................................................................................................... 88 PRISONER PETITIONS ........................................................................................... 88 FORFEITURE/PENALTY ........................................................................................ 88 LABOR ..................................................................................................................... 89 PROPERTY RIGHTS ............................................................................................... 89 SOCIAL SECURITY ................................................................................................ 89 FEDERAL TAX SUITS ............................................................................................ 89 OTHER STATUTES ................................................................................................. 89 Appendix B: Court Codes List ....................................................................................... 91 Appendix C: Party Roles ............................................................................................. 100 District Courts ......................................................................................................... 100 Bankruptcy .............................................................................................................. 101 Appendix D: PACER Case Locator Download Formats .............................................. 103 All Searches Except MDL ....................................................................................... 103 XML ................................................................................................................... 103 TEXT .................................................................................................................. 104 CSV..................................................................................................................... 105 Multi-District Litigation Download Formats ............................................................ 106 XML ................................................................................................................... 106 TEXT .................................................................................................................. 107 CSV..................................................................................................................... 108 April 2012 v Chapter 1: Overview The PACER manual is intended to provide you with a better understanding of what PACER is and how it works. In addition, the manual explains the Case Management/ Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) system and how to use it effectively. CM/ECF is a new case management system recently implemented in the Federal Judiciary for all Appellate, Bankruptcy and District Courts. CM/ECF allows courts to accept filings and provide access to filed documents over the Internet. The CM/ECF PACER manual will concentrate on accessing existing documents online, not the filing of new documents. Some of the CM/ECF features and benefits are listed below: PACER Features · · · 24-hour access to case file documents over the Internet Ability to download and print documents directly from the court system Simultaneous access to case files by multiple parties PACER Benefits · · · · Saving time and money Expanded search and reporting capabilities Works with standard Web browsers (i.e., Internet Explorer and Firefox) No waiting in line for potentially unavailable files at the courthouse CM/ECF Features · · Ability to file documents/pleadings electronically with the court Automatic email notices of case activity. CM/ECF Benefits · NOTE: Case filing logins/passwords are issued by the No delays or added respective court. They are only valid for filing expenses associated documents in the court that issued them and are NOT with mail or courier interchangeable with PACER logins/passwords. services Instant access and allows easier tracking of case activity Reduces physical storage space needs and document processing times · · April 2012 1 · · · Low start-up costs - uses standard Web browsers and established Portable Document Format (PDF) for files Secure and reliable Court dockets are immediately updated and available April 2012 2 Chapter 2: PACER Policies and Procedures It is vital each PACER user has a clear understanding of the policies and procedures associated with using the PACER If you have any questions about the policies system. The selection below is and procedures listed here, contact the PACER copied verbatim from the PACER Service Center at 800-676-6856 or send an Service Center s On-Line email to [email protected]. Registration page: https://www.PACER.gov/psco/cgibin/regform.pl Fee Information There is no registration fee. However, the Judicial Conference of the United States has established a fee for access to information in PACER. All registered users will be charged as follows: · · Use of the PACER system will generate a $.10 per page charge. Audio files of court hearings retrieved via PACER will generate a $2.40 per file charge. Acknowledgment of Policies and Procedures I understand that: o There is a charge for accessing information in PACER (see Fee Information above and PACER Fees below in Chapter 3 for more details). PACER provides electronic access to case information in U.S. federal courts. By registering for a PACER account, I assume responsibility for all fees incurred through the usage of this account. o Certain accounts may be designated, under Judicial Conference policy, as exempt from fees. If my account is exempt from the fee, it is my responsibility to use the account only within the scope of the fee exemption. o I must alert the PACER Service Center to any errors in billing within 90 days of the date of the bill. o The per-page charge applies to the number of pages that results from any search, regardless of the number of pages viewed, printed, or downloaded. Searches that result in no matches incur a charge for one page of data. o Users who provide a valid credit card or debit card number at the time of registration will receive access instructions shortly thereafter (usually in a matter of minutes). Users who do not provide a card number at the time of registration will receive access instructions via U.S. mail. April 2012 3 o Usage is billed on a quarterly basis. Pursuant to Judicial Conference policy, no account is billed for usage of less than $15 in a quarter. o Statements, which contain a summary of the charges the account has incurred, are sent in January, April, July, and October. Detailed transaction information is available at the Manage My PACER Account@ section of the PACER Service Center website (www.pacer.gov). o All new accounts automatically default to email billing. o If a credit card or debit card number is provided at the time of registration, usage is automatically billed on a quarterly basis to the card number submitted with this registration request. These charges will be billed to the card up to 7 days before the 'Due Date' listed on your quarterly invoice. Electronic statements will be generated and sent via email. Paper statements will not be mailed to accounts with automatic billing. o If a credit card or debit card number is not provided at the time of registration, quarterly invoices will be emailed to the email address submitted with this registration request. Users must remit payment through the mail or on-line via the PACER Service Center website (www.pacer.gov). o PACER bills that are not paid on time are subject to federal debt collection measures. These measures include, but are not limited to, referral to a private collection agency or the U.S. Department of Treasury for collection. Accounts that are referred to a private collection agency will be assessed substantial collection fees in addition to the outstanding debt owed to the PACER Service Center. I must provide accurate and complete information in registering for this account. I will promptly inform the PACER Service Center of any changes to that information. The PACER account being registered is for my use only, unless specifically designated otherwise on the registration form. I am responsible for preventing unauthorized use of the account. If I believe there has been unauthorized use, I must notify the PACER Service Center immediately by emailing [email protected] or telephoning (800) 676-6856. The PACER Service Center and/or a U.S. federal court reserve(s) the right to: o Suspend service to any account in which the amount due is not paid by the due date. o Demand immediate payment, outside of the regularly scheduled billing cycles, of an account at any time that the PACER Service Center determines the action is necessary. April 2012 4 o Notify and seek payment from the firm listed on my account registration if my account balance is not paid by the due date. o Reject an account registration request that the PACER Service Center determines to be related to an existing PACER account with a past due balance. o Suspend service to an account if any part of the information provided to the PACER Service Center as part of this account registration process is fraudulent. Information about the account and any accounts determined to be related to it may be turned over to law enforcement authorities. o Deny accounts to requesters who have delinquent debts to any federal government agency, in accordance with 31 U.S.C. ' 3720B (a). o Suspend or reduce service to, or otherwise restrict access to PACER by, any account that causes an unacceptable level of congestion or a disruption to the operations of the PACER Service Center, a U.S. federal court, or another PACER user. o Suspend service to an account at any time that the PACER Service Center or a U.S. federal court determines the action is necessary to prevent fraud or to maintain the security of its computer systems and networks. o Require prepayment as a condition to the resumption of service for any account that has § had service suspended or restricted for any reason, § had multiple instances of late payments, or § been requested to make immediate payment of fees incurred. Public Access to Court Electronic Records is supported by user fees. Any attempt to collect data from PACER in a manner which avoids billing is strictly prohibited and may result in criminal prosecution or civil action. PACER privileges will be terminated if, in the judgment of judiciary personnel, they are being misused. Misuse includes, but is not limited to, using an automated process to repeatedly access those portions of the PACER application that do not assess a fee (i.e. calendar events report or case header information) for purposes of collecting case information). An account determined by the PACER Service Center to be related to an account that has been subject to an action outlined above may also be subject to the same action. Accounts may be determined to be related based on information obtained by the PACER Service Center during registration or other contact with CM/ECF, PACER, or the IMPORTANT: Any attempt to collect PACER Service Center. data from PACER in a manner which avoids billing is strictly prohibited and If these Policies and Procedures change in may result in criminal prosecution or a significant way, information regarding civil action. April 2012 5 the changes will be posted on the PACER Service Center web site (www.pacer.gov). It is the account holder s responsibility to check these Policies and Procedures regularly for changes. Continued use of PACER following the posting of changes will mean that the account holder accepts and agrees to the changes. April 2012 6 Chapter 3: Introduction to Electronic Public Access The Federal Court system has services and technologies designed to provide people outside the court (the "public") with easy access to court information. The United States Courts designed an electronic public access system called PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) for online access to U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and U.S. Courts of Appeals case information. PACER systems are beneficial for quickly tracking or retrieving accurate information about current and recently closed federal cases. These systems provide listings of cases searched by name, Social Security Number (SSN), case number or filing dates, as well as comprehensive electronic case summaries, dockets and documents. Access to images in a case may include all documents, certain documents, or no documents. You can view, print, or download case documents. If a document is not available through PACER, you may need to contact the court to request a copy. Each court maintains its own computer system and case information database; therefore, there will be some variations among jurisdictions as to the format and content of the information. PACER Fees NOTE: If you accrue a total of less than The United States Congress has given $15.00 worth of charges in any given quarter, the Judicial Conference of the United fees are waived for that quarter. States, the judicial governing body of the U.S. Federal Courts, authority to set user fees for electronic access to case information. All registered agencies or individuals will be charged a user fee. Access to web based PACER systems will generate a $0.10 per page charge. The per-page charge applies to the number of pages that result from any search, including a search that yields no matches (one page for no matches.) Billable pages are calculated in two ways in current PACER systems. A formula is used to determine the number of pages for an HTML formatted report. Any information extracted from the CM/ECF database, such as the data used to create a docket sheet, is billed using a formula based on the number of bytes extracted (4320 Bytes). For a PDF document, the actual number of pages is counted to determine the number of billable pages. For report data retrieved from the CM/ECF system that is printed, the print job will not always match the number of pages billed. The number of pages printed is dependent on individual printer and browser settings. All users are charged equally for the same information regardless of the browser settings or printer configurations. A transaction receipt and the Review Billing History options are provided in each court site for reviewing charges. Also, Review Transaction History is available on this site in Manage My PACER Account for reviewing transactions from all courts. The transactions are April 2012 7 updated on the PACER Web Site by the middle of each month. If you accrue a total of less than $15.00 worth of charges in any given quarter, fees are waived for that quarter. The per-page charge applies whether or not pages are printed, viewed, or downloaded. You will be billed on a quarterly basis for your transactions. You will be allowed to enter a client code of your choosing each time you login to PACER to help facilitate managing the costs. The charge for any single NOTE: The 30-page cap does not apply to document is capped at $3.00, the transcripts of federal court proceedings, new equivalent of 30 pages. The cap cases reports, or other non-case-specific reports does not apply to name searches, or searches. reports that are not case-specific, and transcripts of federal court proceedings. In CM/ECF, most reports obtained using the Reports menu options are not case-specific and are not capped at 30 pages. Access to audio files of court hearings retrieved via PACER will generate a $2.40 per file charge. Dockets Docket reports are generated with the number of pages for a particular docket sheet before the document is reformatted for display as an HTML web page. Billable pages are calculated using a formula to determine the number of pages for an HTML formatted report. Any information extracted from the CM/ECF database, such as data used to create a docket sheet, is billed using a formula based on the number of bytes extracted. Four thousand three hundred twenty bytes equal one billable page. Docket Reports are capped at 30 pages. Case Reports NOTE: Use caution when running Billable pages for case reports such as the Cases Case Reports as these reports are Report or Mailing Matrix are calculated using a not capped at 30 pages. formula to determine the number of pages for an HTML formatted report. Any information extracted from the CM/ECF database, such as data used to create a docket sheet, is billed using a formula based on the number of bytes extracted (4320 Bytes equal one billable page). Search Results Search results are calculated using a formula to determine the number of pages for an HTML formatted report. Any information extracted from the CM/ECF database, such as data used to create a docket sheet, is billed using a formula based on the number of bytes extracted (4320 Bytes equal one billable page). April 2012 8 Images PACER web sites offer images of documents filed. Images are billed according to the number of pages scanned in PDF format. Each scanned page equals one billable page. Caserelated documents are capped at 30 pages. NOTE: Use caution when running name searches as the results are not capped at 30 pages. April 2012 9 PACER Billing The PACER Service Center bills quarterly and sends statements by mail or email. Fees are waived when usage is less than $15 for the quarter. Payments may be made online from the PACER website under Account Information, or by calling the PACER Service Center at 800-676-6856 to pay a balance using VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express. If you pay by check, please include the login on the check to ensure that payment is posted to the correct account. The payment mailing address is: PACER Service Center P.O. Box 71364 Philadelphia, PA 19176-1364 Currently, PACER does not accept check-by-phone payments. If a client code is entered for a transaction, the client code will appear on the statement. The Client Code feature is a text field (up to 32 characters in length) for tracking charges. A client code will not appear on the bill unless it is entered at the time of the transaction. Billing Statement There are two ways to review your PACER usage. The Usage History options are available from the PACER website http: //www.PACER.gov under the Manage My PACER Account screen. Review Quarterly Statements provides you with the option to view current or previous billings. Also, Review Detailed Transaction History provides details on searches you have conducted. These details consist of date, time, client code (if used), type of search, number of pages, and PACER charges. Billing Errors If an error is suspected on a statement or if there are questions concerning a transaction, write to: PACER Service Center P.O. Box 780549 San Antonio, TX 78278 There is a Credit Request Form available at the PACER web site at the Resources page, http://www.pacer.gov/psc/hresources.html. You can also view it directly at the URL http://www.pacer.gov/documents/creditreqform.pdf. April 2012 10 Requests may be faxed to the PACER Service Center at (210) 301 6441. Never include your password with any correspondence. A PACER Service Center representative will contact you during the review process. April 2012 11 Chapter 4: PACER Service Center Website The PACER Service Center (PSC) website at http://www.PACER.gov contains helpful information. Visitors can register for PACER, follow links to PACER websites, review FAQs, and retrieve the PACER User Manual. Register This is the registration page for processing an application for a PACER login and password. There are several different types of accounts for which you may be eligible to register. A PACER account provides search only access and works in all federal appellate, bankruptcy, and district courts. A centralized registration process is also available for electronic filing privileges in federal appellate courts on this site. Filing privileges at federal district and bankruptcy courts are handled by each court individually. It is important to note that a PACER account is separate from any filing account and is required for document access in all federal courts. Most people will want to select the first type of account, PACER - Case Search Only Registration. You can click on that link to learn more or click on the second click here to go directly to the PACER registration form. If you click on the link to learn more, there is a registration button on that page that will take you directly to the registration form. In order to obtain a PACER login and password, complete the on-line PACER Registration Form. If you provide a credit card at the time of registration, you will April 2012 12 receive an email with instructions on how to retrieve your new login and password. If you do not provide a credit card, the login and password will be sent by U.S. mail to the address provided on the registration form. Please allow 7-10 days for mail delivery. For an expedited registration, provide a credit card during registration. For security reasons, logins and passwords cannot be emailed, faxed, or given over the phone. There is no registration fee. For your information, the Judicial Conference of the United States has established a fee to be collected for access to PACER. All registered agencies or individuals will be charged a user fee. Access to PACER systems will generate a $0.10 per page charge. If you are registering from outside the United States, type 5 zeros in the Zip Code field. If you experience problems with the on-line registration form, download the Fax Version of the registration form, and follow the instructions on the form. For same day (instant) registration (not available on weekends or holidays), PACER will validate the credit card information provided on the registration form. You must acknowledge and comply with PACER Policies and Procedures stated on the registration form. PACER users are registered for access to all PACER Internet sites. Appellate Court E-File Registration Registration for Appellate ECF is separate from and in addition to registering for PACER. PACER registration grants you access to view docket reports and documents from a court's database, while ECF registration will enable you to file documents electronically. If you are a current PACER user, you are required to complete a separate additional appellate court ECF registration form to request appellate filing privileges. Appellate ECF registration is a centralized process completed via the PACER Service Center website; you will not have to visit each circuit's website to register separately. However, you will need to request filing privileges from each court in which you wish to file electronically. When registering for ECF filing you are required to provide general identifying information (e.g., name, address, email address, etc.). You will request a login ID and password of your choosing at the end of the registration process along with a password security question. Once you complete the initial registration in one circuit, you may request filing privileges in additional circuits. The existing contact information will prepopulate any request for filing privileges in additional circuits. You may retain the current information if it is valid or it can be modified to be specific for the court in which April 2012 13 you are requesting filing privileges. The same login ID and password are used to access CM/ECF in all appellate courts in which you are registered as an ECF filer. When a registration request is completed, the PACER Service Center will send your data to the court for processing. Each court in which registration was requested processes the request independently. The approval process allows each court to verify the information provided. You will receive email notification of the court's action on the registration request. Document filing and restricted case/document access in a court is not permitted until that court processes the registration request. Processing time for new registration requests can vary from circuit to circuit. Contact the Clerk's Office if you need immediate access to file documents. You will find a list of court CM/ECF help desk numbers at the following URL: http:// www.pacer.gov/cmecf/ecf_hd_phone.html NOTE: Contact and other information updated on this website are sent electronically to each court in which you are registered - it is not necessary for you to contact each court to provide the updated information. District and Bankruptcy Court E-File Registration Registration for District and Bankruptcy ECF is separate from and in addition to registering for PACER. PACER registration grants you access to view docket reports and documents from a court's database, while ECF registration will enable you to file documents electronically. When you register for a filer account, you must already have a PACER account to be able to view documents. Each District and Bankruptcy court handles filer registrations individually. To register for filing privileges in one of these courts you must contact that court directly. April 2012 14 Manage My PACER Account The Manage My PACER Account screen should look something like this: Maintenance · · Update Account Information - Change a firm or company name, contact person, mailing address, email address, and phone number. Change Password - The system can generate a new password or you may create your own. New passwords must be exactly eight characters long and contain at least two numbers and two letters. Password changes take effect within the hour. Set Security Information NOTE: It is important to set up the security For security reasons, PACER information to make it possible for you to never faxes passwords or recover your password. provides passwords over the phone. You may recover your password via an option to retrieve it via an email link. When you set your Account security information, you provide your email · April 2012 15 address, a security question and answer, and date of birth. The PACER Service Center web site uses this information to verify your identity and then send you an email that will contain your login ID and a secure Web link to obtain the password. · Sign up for Paperless Statement/Invoice - Sign up to receive your quarterly PACER statement by e-mail. You may enter multiple email addresses in the EMail Addresses box that appears on the page when you click this link. Each address must be on a separate line. Set PACER Preferences - This PACER preferences utility allows you to set PACER account preferences for use in CM/ECF systems. It allows you to turn off viewing of transaction receipts and require the use of a client code. The transaction receipt is the small box at the bottom of each billable page (or displayed prior to viewing a PDF document) indicating a charge was accrued. The default for accounts is to view receipts. To stop viewing transaction receipts, set the Show Receipts flag to No. The client code is a text field you enter upon login. You can use the client code to track usage by person, client matter number, or other meaningful entry up to 32 characters. This option allows you to make the use of the client code mandatory and even specify the format of the client code using a Boolean expression (some expression that ends up as true or false). The default for accounts is for the client code to be an optional field. Set the Require Client Code flag to "Yes" to make the use of a client code mandatory upon login. To require the client code in a specific format, set the Require Client Code flag to Yes and use the following grammar to set the Client Code Format. A N . _ , / C 0 alphabetic character, A-Z or a-z numeric digit, 0-9 space character period character underscore character hyphen character comma character slash character any allowable character listed above zero or more of the preceding character · April 2012 16 Follow any format code with a star (*) to specify any number of those types of characters. For example, N* means 0 or more numeric digits and C* means 0 or more of any allowable characters. EXAMPLES: NNNNNNNN AAA 8-digit client matter followed by a space then your initials AAAC* Your initials followed by any number of valid characters, including no more characters at all (C* is 0 or more characters) NN*-NN*/CCC 1 or more digits, a hyphen, 1 or more digits, a slash, and any 3 allowable characters You can also set client code prompt text, such as Enter your initials , to remind users of your preferred office procedures for assigning client codes. Payments · · Check Balance/Make One-Time Credit Card Payment - Check account balance, due date, and make on-line payments Update Credit Card/Sign Up for Recurring Payments - Update your Credit Card information or set up automatic credit card payments. Approximately seven days prior to the due date, the amount of the bill will be charged to the credit card on file. Usage History · · Review Quarterly Statements - View a summary of current or previous billings. Review Detailed Transaction History - View details on searches conducted. These details consist of date, time, and type of search, client code (if used), number of pages, and PACER charges. Review Monthly Totals - View total charges for a given month. · April 2012 17 Chapter 5: PACER Case Locator The PACER Case Locator (https://pcl.uscourts.gov) is a national index for the U.S. District Courts, U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, and U.S. Courts of Appeals. You can reach the PACER Case Locator from the PACER Find a Case page. Subsets of data are collected from the courts and transferred to the PACER Case Locator. The index serves as a locator index for the federal judiciary s Electronic Public Access services. A nationwide search will determine the location of a case for a party that is involved in federal litigation. You can access detailed information on cases found while searching the PACER Case Locator. Court Database Updates Each night subsets of data are collected from the courts and transferred to the PACER Case Locator. Click Court Information in the top menu bar to see the dates for the latest cases collected for each court. April 2012 18 Search Capability The PACER Case Locator allows you to search nationwide by case number, party name, complete or last four digits of a social security number, case filing dates, and much more. The search criteria vary with court type, depending on the relevancy of the search information. For example, only Bankruptcy lets you search for a social security number, and only Appellate and Civil cases include searches by nature of suit. Search Options Search Options include: · · · · · · All Court Types Appellate Bankruptcy Civil Criminal Multi-District Litigation By default, the search results will be displayed one page at a time. One billable page will contain up to 54 matches. The charge for one page of matches or no matches found is one billable page. An option is available to download the entire search results as a text or zip file. The case number field in the output list will be a direct link to the full case information for a specific case. The court field in the output list is a direct link to the court s database. A receipt is displayed at the bottom of the screen indicating the number of billable pages and cost for the data on the current viewable web page only. It does not include the cost for any previously viewed pages. The receipt should look something like this: April 2012 19 Getting Additional Information on Cases To access information, such as the docket for a particular case found while searching the PACER Case Locator, click on the case number in the search results list. The case number should be an active link and should take you to the CM/ECF PACER site for the court in which the case is located. April 2012 20 Basic and Advanced Searches The search form defaults to a Basic search, which includes the frequently used search fields. You can toggle between Basic and Advanced search forms by clicking on the link near the top of the form. The link will say Advanced Search if you are currently using a Basic Search and vice versa. A Basic search simplifies the search by presenting a subset of the search fields you would see if you select Advanced search. Since there are no other differences between the forms than the number of fields included, this manual does not cover Basic searches separately from Advanced searches. The instructions are for the Advanced search, which includes all of the possible search fields. NOTE: This document starts by describing the search fields for All Courts. The other types of courts have most fields in common with All Courts, so the common fields are documented only in the All Courts section. The remaining court sections include explanations of those fields that are unique to those other courts. April 2012 21 All Court Types BASIC ADVANCED April 2012 22 · Region Courts are organized by geographical areas called circuits. For example, the Eleventh Circuit includes Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. There are eleven circuits. If you include the District of Columbia, that makes a total of 12 circuits. There are states and divisions within states that also qualify as regions in some searches. The available selection of regions will change depending on the type of search you perform. For example, the Appellate searches do not include states as regions because they only apply to districts. You can select one or more regions you want to search from the multiple-selection list. Hold down the Control key while clicking in the region list in order to select multiple regions. o Region Selection Map You may also select states or Circuits from an interactive map. Click the Map link to bring up the map. You can click anywhere on a state to select a state for your search, or click on the black Circuit numbers to select a Circuit. You can make multiple selections. Click once to select a region. Click the same spot a second time, and that choice will be unselected. Click on the close button when you're done. You should see that all your choices have been highlighted in the Region list. April 2012 23 · Case Number Each case number follows one of these two patterns: yy-nnnnn yyyy-nnnnn The first numbers indicate the year. In the first pattern, 06 represent 2006. In the second pattern, 2006 is obviously 2006. The next five numbers are the actual case number. NOTE: The Case Numbers in the search results do not follow the same pattern. These Case Numbers include additional information, such as the type of case. · Case Title Case Title search is not case sensitive, so it doesn't matter if you enter any combination of lower or upper case letters. If you enter a single word or portion of a word, the system will find all matches starting from that word. For example, if you search for "US", you will find "US", "USA", "USA vs. Mickey Mouse", etc. The more you can be specific, the fewer matches you should find. · Date Filed, Date Closed If you select only a start date, you will get matches all the way up to the present. If you select only an end date, you will get all matches up to that date. A date range (enter both start and end) is preferable, as long as the range isn't too big, since you're more likely to get a manageable number of results. o Drop Down Calendar You can select dates with a drop-down calendar. Click on the calendar icon to display the drop-down calendar. Hold the mouse button on any of the year or month buttons for faster selection. Click Today « » To go to... Current Date Previous Year Next Year Previous Month Next Month April 2012 24 · Party Name Party Name search is not case sensitive, so it doesn't matter if you enter any combination of lower or upper case letters. The format of a name search is , , so anything you type before a comma (with or without the comma) is assumed to be a last name or the name of a business. Not everyone who files a case follows this convention perfectly, so expect the occasional unexpected search result. If you enter a single name or portion of the name, the system will assume you are entering a last name and will match it accordingly. For example, if you search for "Smit", you will find all people with the last names "Smit", "Smith", "Smitbergen", etc. If you only know a first name, you can use a wild card for the last name and follow it by a comma and then the first name. For example, "*, Jon" (minus the quotes) will match anyone with any last name and a first name of Jon (or Jonathan, or any name starting with 'Jon'). · Search Results The search produces a list of cases (if any) that match the search criteria entered. The party name, case title (if chosen), court where the case is located, case number, filing date, nature of suit code (for civil cases), chapter (for bankruptcy), disposition of the case, and closing date (if applicable) for each match are displayed. The court in which the case is located is abbreviated. For example, 01CA is the abbreviation for the Court of Appeals First Circuit. The first two characters are a numeric or alpha representation for the circuit followed by the letters CA for Court of Appeals. In this case, the court code is "okwbke." You can look up this and any other court code by clicking on Court Information in the top menu bar, or you can look it up in Appendix B of this document. The results (above) of an All Courts search can return cases from multiple categories. In this case, the first results are from Bankruptcy courts, hence the heading. April 2012 25 Appellate BASIC ADVANCED April 2012 26 The Appellate search shares most fields with the All Courts search screen. See the section on All Courts, above, for an explanation of the common fields. The Nature of Suit field is unique to Appellate and Civil courts. · Nature of Suit Leave this field blank (do not select any NOTE: Civil courts also have a Nature of entries) in order to match all Nature of Suit code list, but the codes are not the Suit codes. Otherwise, select the Nature of same. Suit you want to match from the drop down list. You can select multiple entries by holding down the Control key while clicking. April 2012 27 Bankruptcy BASIC ADVANCED April 2012 28 The Bankruptcy search shares most fields with the All Courts search screen. See the section on All Courts, above, for an explanation of the common fields. The Chapter field is unique to Bankruptcy courts. · Chapter You can leave this field on the blank entry to select all Chapters, or select one or more Chapter designations. Select multiple Chapters by holding down the Control key while selecting. In addition to the Date Filed and Date Closed fields, Bankruptcy includes search fields for Date Dismissed and Date Discharged. These date fields are handled the same way as the others. The Last Four Digits of SSN field is unique to Bankruptcy courts. · Last Four Digits of SSN If you know the last four digits of the social security number of the party, you can enter it here to find the cases for that party. The SSN or TIN field is unique to Bankruptcy courts. · SSN or TIN If you know the social security number or federal tax ID for the party, you can enter it here to find the cases for that party. April 2012 29 Civil BASIC ADVANCED April 2012 30 The Civil search shares most fields with the All Courts search screen. See the section on All Courts, above, for an explanation of the common fields. The Nature of Suit field is unique to Appellate and Civil courts. · Nature of Suit Leave this field blank (do not select any NOTE: Appellate courts also have a entries) in order to match all Nature of Suit Nature of Suit code list, but the codes are codes. Otherwise, select the Nature of Suit not the same. you want to match from the drop down list. You can select multiple entries by holding down the Control key while clicking. April 2012 31 Criminal BASIC ADVANCED There are no unique fields for Criminal court searches. See the section on All Courts, above, for an explanation of the common fields. April 2012 32 Multi-District Litigation BASIC ADVANCED April 2012 33 The Multi-District Litigation search shares most fields with the All Courts search screen. See the section on All Courts, above, for an explanation of the common fields. The MDL Case is unique to Multi-District Litigation courts, and replaces the normal Case field. · MDL Case The MDL Case number begins with F and is followed by 5 digits. For example, F01234 would be a valid case number. You can enter a full case number (such as F01234) or just enter the number with or without leading zeros. For example, it doesn't matter whether you enter F01234, 01234 or 1234. In each case, it will find F01234. If you choose to include the F, the search is not case sensitive. F01234 and f01234 will match the same. April 2012 34 Filter Results If your search results in a much larger set of cases than you expected, you don t necessarily have to go back and start over. You can use filters to reduce the number of matching cases until you find the one you want. The best way to learn how to filter results is by example. Let s start with a simple sample search for a Party Name. The Case Title and Party Name search fields are not case sensitive. You may enter any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and the search will find all records that have any combination of matching uppercase or lowercase letters in these fields. The format of a name search is , , so anything you type before a comma (with or without the comma) is assumed to be a last name. However, sometimes the courts file a business name in the Party Name field. Such is the case in this sample, so we ll use the Party Name search field to find the business Thomas Nelson Publishers. If you are following along with this example, type Thomas Nelson Publishers in the Party Name field and click the Search button. You should see results that look something like the following: April 2012 35 Now you can filter these results to see a smaller set. That wouldn t be necessary in our search example, since the result set is small enough to locate the case you want. But a small result set is ideal to learn how filters work; because the tiny result set lets you see exactly what cases are affected by your filter choices. So let s click on the Filter Results button near the top of the screen to get started. You should see something like the picture to the left. April 2012 36 You can filter these results by Court Type, the specific Court, the Year Filed, the Office, the Case Type, or you may enter a search term in the Party Name field. There's no reason to enter a Party Name in this case, because we used a pretty specific Party Name for our original search. Notice that the other filters are followed by numbers in parenthesis. Court Type is followed by (3) to tell you there are three matching court types. Each matching court type has a number of matching records next to it, indicating the number of results you would get if you filtered by that court type. Also, note that these results include four different matching years in the category Year Filed. Expand Year Filed. You should see something like the picture to the left. The entry 1997 (3) shows that there are three matching records for the year 1997. Click on 1997 (3) to see only those matching records, like so: April 2012 37 See how there are only three records in the results and all the Date Filed years match 1997? You can continue to filter these results further. Click on the Filter Results button again. The checkmark shows that you have already selected 1997 as a filter. Now you can select from one of the other choices. In this case, we'll select the Court Type of bk (bankruptcy). You should get only one matching result: Other Filter Fields You will have other filter choices depending upon the type of courts you are searching. For example, a Bankruptcy search will offer filters such as Chapter and Party Role. A Civil court search will let you filter on the Nature of Suit fields and Party Role. You can find out more about the possible Nature of Suit values in Appendix A: Nature of Suit Code List. April 2012 38 Party Role You can filter by Party Role for Bankruptcy, Civil and Criminal court searches. Here is a sample filter dialog from a Bankruptcy search: There are two sets of possible Party Roles, one for Bankruptcy searches and one for Civil and Criminal court searches. You can find a list of available Party Roles in Appendix C: Party Roles. IMPORTANT: The Appendix in this User Manual contains only a partial list of possible Party Roles. Individual Courts are responsible for creating and maintaining Party Roles. If you have questions about Party Roles not listed here or in the PACER Case Locator, check with the individual courts. April 2012 39 Download You can download the results of any search by clicking the Download button near the top of the screen. You should see a little dialog box, from which you can select the format for your download. When you are satisfied with the number of pages to download, the cost for the download, and have selected the format, click the Agree to Charges button. You can always click the red X to close this dialog without performing a download and without being charged. NOTE: Check the number of pages and cost of the download before you click the Agree to Charges button. If your search was too broad, you could end up downloading a large file for which you will pay more than if you narrowed your search first. Once you click on the Agree to Charges button, you should see a file open or save dialog for your browser. April 2012 40 See Appendix D: PACER Case Locator Download Formats for specific information about the download formats. April 2012 41 Court Information Click on Court Information in the top bar menu to get a pop-up window of courts listed with the court abbreviations used by the PACER Case Locator, earliest case date and most recent case date. This list also tells you which courts are or are not on the PACER Case Locator. Currently, only one court is not on the PACER Case Locator, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. You can click on the court link to go directly to that court s web site. Statistics The reports available for purchase in the PACER Case Locator are the F-2 (U.S. Bankruptcy Courts), F-5A (U.S. Bankruptcy Courts) and the Civil Justice Reform Act Reports. Additional statistical reports are available on the Judiciary s web site (http://www.uscourts.gov), under Judicial Business of the United States Courts. The F2 report contains the information reported in "Table F-2, U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, Business and Non-business Cases Commenced, by Chapter of the Bankruptcy Code" published periodically by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. The report includes total business and non-business bankruptcy filings by chapter, district and circuit. The files are updated quarterly. The files are in Microsoft Excel format (xls). The F-5A report provides a summary of the number of business and non-business bankruptcy petitions filed by chapter of the bankruptcy code for a twelve-month period. It displays totals by county code, as well as each circuit and judicial district. County codes are determined by the county of residence of the first named debtor in the petitions. Summary categories have been provided for Within U.S., but outside home state and Outside U.S. Details on county codes can be accessed under County/District Locator under the Search option at http://www.PACER.gov The Civil Justice Reform Act Reports are as follows: District Summary Report Report of Social Security Case Appeals Pending for Over 6 Months Circuit Summary Report Report of Civil Cases Pending Over 3 Years Report of Motions Pending Over 6 Months/Bench Trial Submitted Over 6 Months April 2012 42 Report of Bankruptcy Appeals Pending for More Than 6 Months District and Circuit Averages CJRA - Nature of Suit Report/National Summary CJRA - Nature of Suit Summary Report CJRA - Status Codes Report/National Summary CJRA - Status Codes Summary Report CJRA - Judges/Magistrates Report30 or More 3-Year-Old Cases The reports provide summary and detailed information on pending motions, bench trials, three-year-old cases, bankruptcy appeals, and Social Security appeal cases. The summary reports display totals of pending civil matters by individual district judges and magistrate judges, district, circuit, and nationwide. The detailed reports also display totals, in addition to information regarding the type of proceeding, divisional office, and docket number, nature of case, case title, CJRA filing/reopened and deadline dates, and case status. There are separate data files for courts that have used the CJRA Integrated Case Management (ICMS) and Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) automated systems since March 1998, and the courts (specifically designated as "Non-ICMS") that reported their CJRA pending matters manually. Reports may not exactly match numbers previously published in the CJRA national summary report since CJRA automated system modifications, new reporting policy, and court requests for data corrections have occurred since the inception of electronic reports in March 1998. The changes have resulted in minimal differences in the numbers of CJRA pending matters compared to the previously published national summaries. My Account User Options Click on My Account in the menu bar to view a drop down list of user options. Change Client Code The Change Client Code option provides a means to change a client code to track charges for future billings. (You may also select Change Client Code to toggle the Receipt feature). In order for a client code to appear on a statement, it must be entered and updated prior to a search. It can be changed and updated several times during a session. April 2012 43 1. Enter up to thirty-two characters in the Client Code field. 2. Click on Submit. If you do not click Submit, the client code entered will not be changed. Billing History This option provides billing history for the PACER Case Locator. The Review Billing History option allows the user to view their transactions for one court or all courts during a selected time period sorted either by date, client code, court/date, or court/client code. You can view a formatted report or download the report. You select a date range. There are pre-set ranges, including today, this week, this month, and this quarter. You can also specify a range in MM/DD/YYYY format. You can view details or just a summary. Included in the Billing History is the date the transaction occurred, the time the search began, the number of pages for the transaction, the client code NOTE: The totals provided by Billing History at the PACER (if applicable), Case Locator now include charges incurred from accessing a the description docket report from a court using the link provided by the of the type of PACER Case Locator. In the past, you may have had to visit information each court to get that report. provided, and the search criteria entered to run the search. April 2012 44 1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click on Billing History. Choose All Courts or a specific court from the drop down list. Enter a start and end date for the billing transactions in the specified location. If you do not enter dates, you will get a report for the current date. Choose how you want the output sorted, whether by Transaction Date, Client code, Court/Transaction Date or Court/Client Code. Choose to see a formatted Summary report, or Download the report. Click on Submit Form. PACER Service Center Click on PACER Service Center to open a new window or tab (depending on your browser settings) that will take you directly to the PACER web site http://www.PACER.gov. Logout The Logout option provides a means for logging out or exiting the PACER Case Locator system. April 2012 45 Chapter 6: CM/ECF PACER Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) is a new case management system which allows courts to accept electronically filed documents and provides access to filed documents over the Internet. What You Need You need the following to access the system: · · · Computer - The minimum requirement is that a system is capable of running a web browser. Internet Access - This version of PACER is accessible through the Internet; therefore, Internet access is required. Web Browser - The current release of PACER was written as a web application compatible with popular Web browsers such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. We recommend that you use the most recent version of any browser. Printer - You will need a printer if you want a paper copy of the information you retrieve. If there is a problem with in-office equipment, contact the equipment vendor. Neither the PACER Service Center nor the courts have the resources to provide extensive technical assistance for problems with a PC or other peripheral devices. · Availability The PACER system is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Confirmation of updates or status of active and closed cases can be verified without having to make multiple trips to the courthouse. Security The PACER login screen uses a secure protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Software encrypts and protects your information as it is sent across the Internet. You know the secure server is being used when the lock icon appears at the bottom of the browser. If you leave a PACER page for an unsecured Web page, you may see a notice may indicate that you are moving from a secure document to an unsecured document. You can disregard this message. April 2012 46 Information Updates All CM/ECF systems are updated instantly once the update is completed. This provides real-time access to information entered into the court s database. If there are questions about the information the court is providing (i.e., How far back does the data go? Why are docket entries missing? Or other questions about docket entries), contact the court directly. Saving a file To save a file, select Save As under the browser tool bar option File. You may also use the browser s Clipboard Copy and Paste functions to save/transfer information to a desired location. The Clipboard is a temporary storage area in your browser s memory used to transfer information. You can save the file in HTML format, plain text, or ASCII DOS text. If you don t want HTML and don t know the difference between the latter two choices, plain text is usually a safe bet. You can use copy and paste for any of the case information and report components of PACER. This function is located under the browser s Edit drop-down menu. To copy, use the mouse to highlight the text on the screen. To highlight, click and hold down the left mouse button at the beginning of the text, drag across to the end of the text and release the mouse button. The desired text will be highlighted. Then click Edit Copy (or press Ctrl-c on the keyboard) to copy the highlighted text to the Clipboard. To paste, open a blank page in the desired word processing application then select Edit Paste (or Ctrl-v on the keyboard). Printing To print a screen, click on the browser s Print button, or select File Print from the main menu. If there is a frame at the top of the screen (in Query, case information is separated from the rest of the screen by a line, called a frame), click on the lower half of the screen before clicking the print button. If there is not a frame, click in the body of the document before clicking on the NOTE: If the "save as" or "print" option is not print button. available, the document is opening within the browser. Contact PACER for assistance. Logging in 1. First you need to choose a court. Court links are available at the PACER Service Center website at http://www.PACER.gov. (You can also find a case first through PACER Case Locator. When you go to examine the case, it will take you to the appropriate court.) You will find a list of U.S. April 2012 47 District Courts on the PACER web site by going to the main menu bar and selecting Find a Case Court Links. The links page looks like this: You can also enter the appropriate URL in the address bar of the browser. Most courts can be located at http://ecf.court*. uscourts.gov. The initials for court * are the state, abbreviation of the district (if applicable), and the first letter of the type of court (b for bankruptcy and d for district). For example, the URL for the Texas Northern Bankruptcy Court is http://ecf.txnb.uscourts.gov. 2. Not every court runs the same exact CM/ECF software or formats the pages the same. In most cases, you want to click the link on the court s ECF website that includes the words Document Filing System or a similar option such as View/Print. Here is an example with Document Filing System: April 2012 48 Here is an example with View/Print: 3. If you have not already logged in elsewhere, enter your assigned PACER login and password at the ID and password prompt. All PACER assigned logins and passwords must be entered as provided. It may be a combination of lower case or uppercase letters and may also contain numbers and special characters. You may optionally enter up to thirty-two characters of text in the Client Code field for tracking changes. Click on Verify Login. 4. Universal Login You have the added convenience of a Universal Login feature. This feature allows you to login at one PACER site on the Internet and move to other PACER sites without having to login again as long as the browser remains open. If the browser is closed, it will be necessary to login again. The Universal Login is available from the PACER Service Center website at http://www.PACER.gov by clicking on the PACER logo in the top, left corner of the screen. A cookie-enabled browser is required for the Universal Login to work. Exiting You can exit PACER at any time by closing the browser to exit the Internet or by moving to another web site. April 2012 49 Chapter 7: U.S. District Courts (Civil or Criminal) for CM/ECF You will find a list of U.S. District Courts on the PACER web site by clicking on Court Links in the Frequently Used box on the main page, or going to the main menu bar and selecting Find a Case Court Links. The Query Screen You can enter different search criteria under the Query selection screen. The search criteria are very similar to those in the equivalent court types within the PACER Case Locator (see Chapter 5: PACER Case Locator). The searches you perform under the Query screen may result in multiple pages of search results. A well-defined search will yield a more specific result and reduce the fees incurred for the results of the search. Some search tips are listed below (some of the fields are for other court types and do not appear in the sample screen above): Case number - Full case numbers for district court cases consists of four-part numbers. A typical case number is 1:05-cv-06794 or 1-05-cv-06794, where 1" is the office, 05" is the year, cv is the case type, and 06794" is the case number. April 2012 50 Office 1: Year Case Type 05 cv Case Number 06794 All four parts are needed to uniquely identify a case in the court. If a court has more than one divisional office, there is an office code (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. ) for each division. All cases opened in a given year have the last two digits of the year as the second part of the case number. Next, the case type is either cv for a civil case or cr for a criminal case. Finally, there is an ascending sequence number (i.e., 06794) that is the actual case number. If the case type and office number are omitted on the PACER system (i.e., 0506794) all cases that match the year and case number entered are displayed. The correct one can then be selected from the list provided. Filed Date - You may search by a date range within this field. All cases filed during the specified date range are displayed in billable pages. Last Entry Date - You may search by a date range based on the case activity. All cases with case activity for the specified date range are displayed in billable pages. Nature of Suit - This area provides a drop down menu selection screen with common Nature of Suit codes and a brief explanation of each. To view a list of all recognized Nature of Suit codes, visit PACER Help Resources at http://www.PACER.gov or see Appendix A. Inquiries using the Nature of Suit (NOS) search option require an entry for Filed Date or Last Entry Date. Major categories include: 110-195 Contracts 210-290 Real Property 310-385 Torts 422-423 Bankruptcy 440-444 Civil Rights 510-550 Prisoner Petitions 610-690 Forfeiture/Penalty 710-790 Labor 820-840 Property Rights 861-865 Social Security 870-875 Federal Tax Suits Last Name - You may search for a case using the last name of a party in a case. This field may also be used to enter a company name search. At least two letters must be entered in this field to search by party name. NOTE: When doing partial name searches, First Name - This is not a required field. an asterisk "*" is required after the last letter. You may enter an initial or the full first name to narrow the results when searching by party name (requires at least two letters in the last name field). Middle Name - This is not a required field. You may enter an initial or full middle name to narrow the results when searching by party name. The name search is not case sensitive. You may enter a name in any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters April 2012 51 and the search will extract all names that have any combination of matching uppercase or lowercase letters in the name fields. Type - This is not a required field. The role for the party name may be selected. The sort options are Party, Attorney, or Special Mailing Group/Individual. This list may vary in each site because the field is court definable. In order to search for a specific Type, at least three letters of the last name or company name must be entered in the last name field. You may use only one search criterion. If there are entries for two or more of the search options, the latter is used and the former ignored. For example, if you enter a case number and last name, the case number will be erased as soon as you click the Search button. Query Options Menu Click on Run Query to produce the search results. The results may produce a listing of persons or cases. You may select from this list, click the back button to enter more data, or run another search. If more choices exist than appear in the display area, scroll bars will be present to the right of the selection box. You can use either the mouse or arrow keys to scroll up or down through the choices. Once a specific case is selected, a new screen selection menu will appear with a header that looks something like this (it may vary with the court): · · · · · · Case Number - The case number for the target case. The letters at the end of the case number are the initials of the judge assigned to the case. Case Title - The case title for the case. (i.e., Plaintiff vs. Defendant). Judge - The judge assigned to the case. Filed Date - The date the complaint in a civil or criminal case was filed. Date terminated The date the case was terminated (if applicable). Date of Last filing - This reflects the date of the last document, hearing, or changes to the case information. You should also see the Query option menu, which provides a variety of information pertaining to the person or case: April 2012 52 Alias Any additional names used by the individual or company are provided. They include AKA (Also Known As), DBA (Doing Business As) or FKA (Formally Known As). Associated Cases The Associated Cases option provides cases related to the case or lead case. Information included is the member case number, type of case, and the case title. Click on any of the associated cases to go to the Docket Sheet screen where you can enter certain search criteria to view all or part of that case docket. To get back to the original case, click on the Back button of the browser. The lead docket number is the docket number of the lead case for associated or joined cases such as multi district litigation (MDL) and consolidated cases. Attorney This provides the attorney name and address as well as the party(s) they represent. Case File Location Used by the courts to locate a file folder. Case Summary The Case Summary menu option provides a case header that includes case number and title, presiding judge, filed date, terminated date (if applicable), and date of last filing of the specified case. April 2012 53 In addition the Case Summary provides the following: Office - The divisional office where the case is located. Jury Demand - Indicates whether or not a trial by jury was requested. May reflect None, Plaintiff, Defendant, or Both. Nature of Suit - For civil cases, provides the code for the type of civil case filed. To view a list of all recognized Nature of Suit codes, visit PACER Documents at http://www.PACER.gov or see Appendix A. Jurisdiction - The basis of jurisdiction under which this complaint has been filed at the U.S. District Court. 1 - U.S. Government Plaintiff 2 - U.S. Government Defendant 3 - Federal Question (U.S. Government Not a Party) 4 - Diversity County - Provides the name of the county of residence for the plaintiff(s). Origin - Pertains to origination of the complaint 1 - Original Proceeding 2 - Removed from State Court 3 - Remanded from Appellate Court 4 - Reinstated or Reopened 5 - Transferred from another district 6 - Multi District Litigation 7 - Appeal to District Judge from Magistrate Judgment Lead Case - The case number if multiple cases were filed (either consolidated or jointly administered under one case number). Related Case - Case(s) linked to the main case either by joint administration or consolidation. Def Custody Status - For criminal cases, the defendant may be detained or held under guard. Flags - Used internally by the court. Filed - The date the initiating document was filed at the court. Demand - Monetary demand as filed in the complaint, per thousands ($000). Cause - The U.S. Civil Statute (in Title:Section format) under which the plaintiff files the complaint, as well as a brief description of the statute. April 2012 54 Disposition - The outcome of the case. Terminated - The date, if any, the case was closed. Reopened - The date, if any, the case was reopened. Other Court Case - If applicable, the name of the court where the case originated along with the original case number. Plaintiff - The party that initiated the suit/action. Defendant - The party against which the action is brought. Deadlines/Hearing This will display the pending NOTE: Deadline/Hearing search results hearings/deadlines for the specified case. include a "silver bullet." Clicking on Included in the information is the document the silver bullet does not link to the number that created the deadline (a actual document but to the docket text hyperlink to view this document may be of this particular entry. available), description of the deadline/event, the filed date, the due date and time if applicable, the date the deadline/event was satisfied, and the date the deadline/event was actually terminated. Docket Report Docket Sheet - Select this menu option to enter a specific case number, specify a date range (if desired), and specify a document range (if desired) to obtain the docket report. You can choose to include all terminated parties, active parties and counsel, and member cases. There is an option to sort the report by oldest date first or most recent date first. Docket reports were designed to be the official record of a case. The typical docket report contains information obtained from the Civil or Criminal Cover Sheet submitted by the plaintiff for each complaint filed. The parties appear on the first page of the docket report along with the counsel for each party with counsel s address and telephone number. This is followed by a list of events in the case. The docket report has an option to include case headers as part of the pdf document or not. The case header usually consists of the case number, document number, date and time of filing. Most case headers are displayed at the top of the case document pages. The docket report also includes an option to view or print multiple documents. After retrieving the docket report, users may place a check mark by the document number(s) they wish to view. This option will download all requested documents at once without April 2012 55 toggling back and forth to the docket report. The maximum download size is set to 10MB. If documents exceed this amount an error message will appear. Additional features that may be included in the docket report are: Header - Name of the U.S. Court with jurisdiction over the case, divisional office where it is being administered, and the case number. Case Title - Plaintiff v. Defendant. Assigned to - Name of the judge presiding over the case. Lead Case - Case number of the lead case if consolidated, jointly administered, or multi-district litigation. Case in other court - Court where case was originally filed as well as original case number in that court (if applicable.) Case Flags - Listed in the upper right corner of the docket, these flags indicate certain actions in the case. Case flags are used internally by the court. Cause - The U.S. Civil Statute (in Title:Section format) under which the plaintiff filed the complaint, as well as a brief description of the statute. Date Filed - The date the complaint was filed in this court. Jury Demand - Indicates whether or not a trial by jury was requested. May reflect None, Plaintiff, Defendant, or Both. Nature of Suit - For civil cases, provides the code for the type of civil case filed. To view a list of all recognized Nature of Suit codes, visit PACER Documents at http://www.PACER.gov or see Appendix A. Jurisdiction - The basis of jurisdiction under which this complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court. They are as follows: U.S. Government Plaintiff, U.S. Government Defendant, Federal Question (U.S. Government Not a Party), Diversity. Docket entries - Provides a listing of events concerning a particular case. The docket sheet contains three items: Date Filed - The date the particular document was filed. # - The docket entry number. Items on the docket report that are blue and underlined indicate a hyperlink. If a document number is hyperlinked, clicking on it will take you to a PACER Transaction receipt indicating the April 2012 56 number of pages for that document. To access the document, click the View Document button. The document opens in PDF format. If the document number is black, then the document is not available online. You must contact the court to obtain copies of any document not available online. Docket Text - A brief summary of the event that resulted for the docket entry. (Entered: mm/dd/yyyy) - This is the date the event was electronically entered on the docket. Documents filed on one day but not entered into the court s database until the next day will result in the difference between the date file and date entered. Filers The Filers menu option provides a list of all the parties who have filed documents in a specific case. The information will display by clicking on the party name. This information includes the document number pertaining to documents filed by the individual (which may be a hyperlink to view that document), date filed, brief description of the document, and the docket text. There will be a "silver bullet" in the list of events. Click the silver bullet to display the full docket text for a particular docket entry; it is not a link to the actual document. History/Documents The History/Documents menu option provides all the public events docketed on a specific case. This list can be sorted to include all events in the case or only events with documents. Included in the information is the document number (if applicable), file date, and a description of the event. Doc. No. - Provides the document number. The document number may have a hyperlink to the actual document filed at the court. If the document number is blue (or purple) and underlined, you can view the document by clicking on the hyperlink. If the number is black, the document is not available online. Dates - The date this document was filed/entered/terminated. Description - A brief description of activity in the case or the document filed (unless Display Docket Text was chosen as a display option on the previous screen). Next to the description is a silver bullet. Click the silver bullet to display the full docket text for a particular docket entry; it is not a link to the actual document. The date the event was electronically entered on the docket appears within the docket text. This date may differ from the filed date if the document was filed manually and not docketed the same day it was received. April 2012 57 Party This is a list of all parties associated with a specific case, the type of party (e.g., defendant), and the date the party was added to or terminated (if applicable) from the case. The names and addresses of the attorneys that represent the parties are also listed. Related Transactions Each selected transaction in the case is shown in a box with any other linked or related transactions. Status The Status menu option provides the Pending/Terminated Statuses for this case. April 2012 58 U.S. District Court CM/ECF PACER Report Options Report Search The first screen that appears after clicking Reports from the blue bar may vary slightly in each court. It is typically a list of menu options for various reports you may access. Docket Sheet This menu option allows you to enter a specific case number, specify a date range (if desired), and specify a document range (if desired) to obtain a Docket Report. You can choose to include all terminated parties, active parties and counsel, or member cases. There is an option to sort the report by oldest date first or most recent date first. For more details see the description of the docket sheet under the Query Options menu. Civil Cases This menu option allows you to retrieve a listing of civil cases filed using a specific date range. The Civil Cases Report has general default settings; however, the report may be customized to be more specific. The following selections may be changed to customize the report: Office - Indicates the divisional office in which the case was filed. Case type - These may vary in each court. Typical case types are Civil, Miscellaneous, and Multi-District Litigation. Nature of Suit (NOS) - List of all recognized nature of suit codes Case flags - List of case flags used by the court. These may vary in each court. April 2012 59 Cause - The U.S. Civil Statute (in Title: Section format) under which the plaintiff filed the complaint and a brief description of the statute. Filed/to - Choose a NOTE: Do not enter a date range that is too broad. beginning and end Doing so can result in difficulty receiving the data in date to display all addition to accruing charges for a large report. cases either filed, closed, or both between the dates entered. Enter dates in MM/DD/YYYY format. Terminal Digit (s) - Will display cases where the last digit of the case number is equal to this value. Open Cases/Closed Cases - Click these boxes to produce a report containing open cases, closed cases, or both (if both boxes are checked), filed within the date range selected. Sort By - Three sort options are provided within this report. You can sort by Case Number, Terminal Digit, or Divisional Office. Output Format - Type of format in which the report will be displayed. Formatted Display - Provides selections in HTML web page format. Data Only - Provides a file containing raw data in pipe delimited format. The selections above will yield a report as requested. The report provides the Case Number/Title, Case Dates (Filed, Closed, Re-opened), Days Pending, and Notes. Judgment Index The Judgment Index menu option provides a list of cases in which judgments have been entered according to a specific date range. You can perform a more limited search by entering a case number or party name. The selections made will yield a report as requested. The report provides the Case Number/Title, Judgment Description (for example, In favor of, Against, Amount, Date, Document, Interest, Court cost), and Status. The case number is a hyperlink to the docket for the case while the document number may be a hyperlink to a document of the judgment in PDF format. Criminal Cases The Criminal Cases menu option provides you the ability to retrieve a listing of criminal cases filed using a specific date range. The Criminal Cases Report has general default April 2012 60 settings; however, the report may be customized to be more specific. The settings below may be changed to customize the report: Office - Indicates the divisional office in which the case was filed. Case types - This may vary in each court. Typical case types are Criminal, Magistrate Judge, or Petty Offense. Filed/to - Choose a beginning and end date to display all cases either filed, closed, or both between the dates entered. Enter dates in MM/DD/YYYY format. NOTE: Do not enter a date range that is too broad. Doing so can result in difficulty receiving the data in addition to accruing charges for a large report. Case flags - List of case flags used by the court. This may vary in each court. Terminal Digit(s) - Will display cases where the last case number digit is equal to this value. Defendants - The type of defendant(s) for cases extracted in the specific search. Sort By - Three sort options are provided within this report. You can sort by Case Number, Terminal Digit, or (divisional) Office. Output Format - Type of format in which the report will be displayed. Formatted Display - Provides selections in HTML or web page format. Data Only - Provides a file containing raw data in pipe delimited format. The selections above will yield a report as requested. The report provides the Case Number/Title, Case Dates (filed, closed, reopened), Days Pending, and Notes. Calendar Events The Calendar Events option provides a listing of past and/or future calendar events for one or multiple cases. This listing contains the date, time, case number, and brief explanation of specific events based upon the search results. Docket Activity The Docket Activity option provides a list of the docket activity for one or more cases within the date range entered. April 2012 61 Based on the selection criteria NOTE: Be aware that hundreds of new documents and date range entered, this are submitted daily to each individual court; report will provide all docket therefore, the results may be substantial. It is activity entered during the strongly recommended to enter only one day at a specified date range. If a time. specific case number is entered the maximum fee will not exceed the cap of 30 pages ($3.00). However, omitting the case number will not cap the results. The report will provide the Case Number/Title, Dates (Entered/Filed - Entered date includes time of entry on a docket), Category/Event, Docketed by, and Notes (may include - Cause, Office, Presider, Case Flags). The case number is a hyperlink to the docket, the document number may be a hyperlink to the document of the pleading in PDF format. You should enter a case number to make the search more specific. This will avoid generating a report that may contain hundreds of pages. Written Opinions The Written Opinions menu option provides a listing of written opinions made by the court for the date range entered. Written opinions have been defined by the Judicial Conference as any document issued by a judge or judges of the court sitting in that capacity that sets forth a reasoned explanation for a court s decision. The responsibility for determining which documents meet this definition rests with the authoring judge. Utilities Menu Some of the menu options under this category may vary in each court. April 2012 62 ECF Login You can use this option to enter an Electronic Case Filing (ECF) login and password. This login/password is issued by the court and allows you to file documents electronically. The court s Local Rules and procedures dictate who is eligible to receive an ECF login/password. An ECF login/password does not allow access to view documents. Change Client Code The Change Client Code menu option provides a means to change a client code in order to track charges on future billings. In order for a client code to appear on a statement, it must be entered and updated prior to a search. You may change the client code several times during a session. 1. Enter up to thirty-two characters in the client code field. 2. Click on Submit. You must click Submit or the client code entered will not be accepted. Change Your PACER Login This option allows you to switch from one PACER account to another. For example, a CJA attorney logged in with his/her PACER ID used for court-appointed cases can use this feature to login with his/her PACER ID used for retained cases. Clear Default PACER Login This option removes the association between your CM/ECF login and your default PACER account. Selecting this option will prompt you to enter your PACER login/password each time you retrieve case information. Court Information This menu option displays vital court information, including the court s name, software version of CM/ECF and the date the court went live on CM/ECF, file size limitation for documents, descriptions of public flags, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, hours of operation, and the PACER Service Center's address, phone number, and e-mail address. April 2012 63 Review Billing History This option generates a billing history report. Included in the Billing History is the date the transaction occurred, NOTE: The totals provided by Billing History now include the time the search charges incurred from accessing a docket report from a court began, the number of using the link provided by the PACER Case Locator. In the pages for the past, you may have had to visit each court to get that report. transaction, the client code (if applicable), the description of the type of information provided, and the search criteria entered to run the search. 1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click on Billing History. Choose All Courts or a specific court from the drop down list. Choose how you want the output sorted, whether by Date, Client code, Court/Date or Court/Client Code. Choose whether to display details or just a summary. Choose to see a formatted report, or download the report. Enter a start and end date for the billing transactions in the specified location. If you do not enter dates, you will get a report for the current date. Click on Run Report. 7. Show PACER Account This option displays the PACER login and client code (if applicable) for the current session. Legal Research The Legal Research menu feature provides a means for linking to sites that provide a Law or Medical Dictionary. It is designed to assist in understanding the documents submitted to the court. Some courts may not offer this feature. Logout The Logout feature provides a means for logging out or exiting the CM/ECF PACER system. April 2012 64 Chapter 8: U. S. Bankruptcy Courts for CM/ECF The Query Screen You can enter different search criteria under the Query selection screen. Search results are based on the information entered within the screen. Searches performed under the Query screen may result in multiple pages. A well-defined search will yield a more specific result and reduce the fees incurred for the results of the search. Some search tips are listed below: Case Number - Case Numbers Full case numbers for bankruptcy court cases consists of four-part numbers. A typical case number is 1:05-bk-06794 or 1-05-bk-06794, where 1" is the office, 05" is the year, bk is the case type, and 06794" is the case number. Office 1: Year 05 Case Type bk Case Number 06794 All four parts are needed to uniquely identify a case in the court. If a court has more than one divisional office there is an office code (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. ) for each division. All cases opened in a given year have the last two digits of the year as the second part of the case number. Next, the case type is either "bk" for a bankruptcy case, ap for an adversary proceeding, or mp for a miscellaneous proceeding. Finally, there is an ascending sequence number (i.e., 06794) that is the actual case number. If the case type and office number are omitted on the PACER system (i.e., 05-06794) all cases that match the year and case number entered are displayed. The correct one can then be selected from the list provided. April 2012 65 Last/Business Name - To search by party name at least two letters of an individual s last name or a company name are required. First Name - This is not a required field. You may enter the first name of an individual (requires at least two letters in the last name field) to limit the search. NOTE: The name search is not case sensitive. You may enter a name in any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and the search will extract all names that have any combination of matching uppercase or lowercase letters in the name fields. Middle Name - This is not a required field. You may enter the initial or full middle name of an individual (requires at least three letters in the last name field) to limit the search. SSN - You may search by the full Social Security Number (SSN). Use of a wildcard is not permitted. Social Security numbers must be entered using dashes between each set of numbers (i.e., 123-45-6789). Tax ID - You may search by a company s tax ID number. Type - You may choose from a list of available party types (i.e., Attorney, Party, and Trustee). This list may vary in each site. In order to search for a specific Type, at least three letters of the last name or company name must be entered in the last name field. Only one search criterion may be used. If there are entries for two or more of the search options, the latter is used. For example, if a case number and SSN are entered, the case number will be erased as soon as the Search button is clicked. Query Options Menu Click on Run Query to produce the search results. The results may produce a listing of persons or cases. You may select from the list, click the back button to enter more data, or run another search. The number of party matches is displayed. If more choices exist than appear in the display area, a scroll bar will be present to the right of the selection box. You can use either the mouse or arrow keys to scroll up or down through the choices. The number of pages resulting from the search is provided at the end of the listing. Clicking on a party name provides either a list of cases in which the party is involved (click on the desired case number) or a new screen selection menu. This menu is the Query options menu, and provides a variety of information pertaining to the person/company or case. The case header appears at the top of the screen, for example: April 2012 66 A brief explanation of each field is described below: Case Number - The case number for the target case. Case Title - The case title, debtor and/or co-debtor (if any) for bankruptcy cases, Plaintiff vs. Defendant for adversary proceedings. Case Type - The case type: bk for bankruptcy case; ap for adversary proceeding; mp for miscellaneous proceeding. Chapter - The chapter of the case. The following is a list of all available chapters in bankruptcy: Chapter 7 - Typically filed as a no asset case Chapter 9 - Municipalities Chapter 11 - Reorganization Chapter 12 - Family Farmer/Fisherman Chapter 13 - Wage Earner Chapter 15 (formerly listed as Chapter 304) - Foreign proceeding Assets - The asset flag for the case. Yes signifies "asset case"; No signifies "no asset case. Vol - V Indicates whether the case is voluntary (V) or Involuntary (I). Judge - Judge assigned to the case. Date Filed - The filing date of the petition in a bankruptcy case or complaint in an adversary proceeding. Date Discharged Date Terminated The date the case was discharged (if applicable). The date the case was terminated (if applicable). Date of last filing - This reflects the date of the last document, or hearing, or changes to the case information. April 2012 67 The left side of the Query Options menu displays an alphabetical list of report options (different sites may have menus that differ somewhat from this example): Alias Any additional names used by the individual or company are provided. They include AKA (Also Known As), DBA (Doing Business As) or FKA (Formally Known As). Associated Cases The Associated Cases menu option provides cases related to the case. Information included is the main case number, associated case number, and case title (bankruptcy, adversary or miscellaneous). Click on any of the case numbers to get the docket report for that case. Click the "Back" button of the browser to return to the Query Options menu. Attorney The Attorney feature provides the attorney s names and addresses as well as the party(s) they represent. Case Summary The Case Summary menu option provides the case header for the specified case followed by a summary that includes: Office - The divisional office for the case. April 2012 68 County - Provides the name of the county of residence for the debtor or plaintiff(s). Fee - Fee status for the bankruptcy case. P (paid) signifies that the case filing fee has been paid; I (installment) signifies that the case is an installment case and that the final installment has not yet been paid. Origin - Pertains to origination of a complaint in an adversarial proceeding. 1 - Original Proceeding 2 - Removed Proceeding 4 - Reinstated or Reopened 5 - Transferred from Another Bankruptcy Court Reopen - The number of times the case has been reopened. Previous Term - If reopened, the previous closing date. Disposition - If the case has been closed, the final disposition. Joint - Signifies whether or not the case involves more than one person. The n indicates one debtor. The y indicates joint debtors. Related adversary proceedings - The case numbers for any and all adversary proceedings related to the main case. Pending Status - Reflects the next event in the case. Flags - If flags are present for the case, they will appear in this field. They are used internally in the court and may contain such items as CLOSED, CLAIMS, DISCHARGED, etc. Trustee - Provides the name of the representative of the bankruptcy estate who exercises statutory powers, principally for the benefit of the unsecured creditors, under general supervision of the court and the direct supervision of the U.S. Trustee or Bankruptcy Administrator, followed by the city, phone number, and email address of this individual. More than one trustee may appear in this field. Party - All parties added to the case and their party role. Debtor - A person who has filed a petition for relief under the bankruptcy laws. Defendant - An individual (or business) against whom a lawsuit is filed. Plaintiff - A person or business that files a formal complaint with the court. April 2012 69 Atty - The name of the attorney(s) in the case followed by the party(s) they represent. It also includes the attorney s phone number, fax number, and email address. Location of Case File(s) - Used by courts to locate the case file folder. Filed - The date the first document was filed with the court. This is usually the voluntary petition. Terminated - If closed, the date of the docket entry closing the case was entered. Discharged - The date the discharge was ordered by the presiding judge. Reopened - The date (if any) the case was reopened. Converted - If applicable, the date the case was converted from one chapter to another. Dismissed - The date the case was dismissed. Confirmation Hearing - The date the Chapter 13 Plan or Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization will be confirmed. Creditor The Creditor menu option provides a listing of the names and addresses of the creditors. Claims Register A Claim is a right to payment or a right to an equitable remedy for a breach of Performance, if the breach gives rise to a right to payment. A Creditor must file a Proof of Claim form along with documentation evidencing the validity and amount of the Claim. The Court is required to keep a list of Claims filed in a case when it appears that there will be a distribution to Unsecured Creditors. This menu option provides a list of claims filed in the case with relevant information for the specified case. To search for claims, enter a case number. Search results can be limited by adding a creditor s name, claim number, a range of claim numbers, or by leaving the option blank to retrieve all claims. The default date range is the first day of the current month to the current day. Be sure to expand the date range to cover the life of the case being searched in order to view all claims filed for this particular case. The report may be sorted alphabetically by Creditor Name, numerically by Claim Number, or by Filed Date. The information displayed for each claim includes the case number and debtor s name (this is hyperlinked to the docket report for the case), Claims Bar Date and Government April 2012 70 Bar Date, Creditor Name and address, Claim Number (may be hyperlinked to the actual claim filed), Date Claim Filed, Filing Status, Filed Late (Y/N), Deficiency, Unliquidated, Amount Claimed, Class (Administrative, Priority, Secured, Unsecured), Total, Amount Allowed, Duplicates Claim Number, Duplicated by Claim Number, Amends Claim Number, Amended by Claim Number, Remarks, and Description. The information above may vary by court. Creditor Mailing Matrix The Creditor Mailing Matrix provides creditor names and addresses in either a onecolumn label format, a three-column label format, or raw data (unprocessed) format. These options may vary by court. When selecting the raw data format option, the data is displayed as: Case Number|Name of Creditor|Address 1|Address 2|Address 3|Address 4 An example of an entry with blank fields is as follows: Case Number: 96-12345 Name of Creditor: Bugs Bunny Address 1: [blank] Address 2: 12345 Bunny Road Address 3: [blank] Address 4: Washington, DC 12345 The raw data would appear as: 96-12345|Bugs Bunny||12345 Bunny Road||Washington, DC 12345 Deadline/Schedule This will display the pending NOTE: Clicking the silver bullet will not hearings/deadlines for a specific case. take you to the actual document but to the Included in the information is a brief docket text which describes this particular description of the deadline/schedule entry. with a silver bullet (if applicable) that will link you to the docket text for this entry, a hyperlink (if available) for the document that created this deadline/schedule, the docket text, the filed date, the due date and time, and the date the deadline/schedule was satisfied/terminated. Docket Report Docket Sheet - This page allows you to enter a specific case number, specify a date range (if desired), and specify a document range (if desired) to obtain the Docket Report. You can choose to include all terminated parties, active parties and counsel, and member cases. There is an option to sort the report by oldest date first or most recent date first. April 2012 71 Docket reports were designed to be the official record of a case. The parties and counsel for each party, including an address and telephone number, appear on the first page of the docket report followed by a list of events that have occurred in the case. The docket report has an option to include case headers as part of the pdf document or not. The case header usually consists of the case number, document number, and the date and time of filing. Most case headers are displayed at the top of the case document pages. The docket report also includes an option to view or print multiple documents. After retrieving the docket report, users may place a check mark by the document number(s) they wish to view. This option will download all requested documents at once without toggling back and forth to the docket report. The maximum download size is set to 10MB. If documents exceed this amount an error message will appear. Additional features of the docket report include: Case Flags - Listed in the upper right corner of the docket, these flags indicate certain actions in the case. These flags are used internally by the court. Header - The name of the U.S. federal court with jurisdiction over the case, divisional office where it is being administered, and the case number. Assigned to - Name of the judge presiding over the case. Related BK Case - For a bankruptcy case it will reflect the Adversary Proceedings (ap) case number associated with this case. For an Adversary Proceeding case it will reflect the lead bankruptcy case associated with this case. Related BK Title - The name of debtor(s) on the bankruptcy case. Chapter - The chapter under which the bankruptcy is currently administered. Voluntary/Involuntary - Specifies that the debtor(s) filed the bankruptcy voluntarily or was filed against. Asset/No asset - This flag provides creditors a status of any property involved in this particular case. Asset indicates there is property owned by a person that can be used to settle debts. No asset indicates there is no property that can be used to settle debts. Date Filed: - The date the bankruptcy/complaint was filed. Date Terminated - If closed, the filed date of the closing docket entry. Date Discharged (or) Dismissed - The date the discharge or dismissal was ordered by the presiding judge. April 2012 72 Docket entries - Provides a listing of events concerning this particular case. The docket text area 3-column table containing three items: Filing Date - The date the particular document was filed. # - The docket entry number. Items on the docket report that are blue (or purple) and underlined indicate a hyperlink. If a document number is hyperlinked, clicking on it will direct you to a PACER Transaction Receipt indicating the number of pages for that document. To access the document, click the View Document button. The document will open in PDF format. If the document number is black, the document is not available online. You must contact the court to obtain copies of any document not available online. Docket Text - A brief summary of the event which resulted in this docket entry. (Entered: mm/dd/yyyy) - This is the date the event was electronically entered on the docket. Documents filed on one day but not entered into the court s database until the next day will result in the difference between the date filed and date entered. Filers The Filers menu option provides a list of parties that have filed documents in a specific case, (party) type, date the filer was added to the case, and date the filer was terminated (if applicable) from the case. Click on the hyperlink for the filer name to access additional information, such as, the document number pertaining to documents filed by the individual, event name, and date filed. Click the silver bullet in the event field to obtain docket text for a particular entry. History/Documents The History/Documents menu option provides events docketed on a specific case. This list can be sorted to include all events in the case or only events with documents. Included in the information are the document number (if applicable), date filed, and description of the event. Click the silver bullet in the event field to obtain docket text for a particular entry. Doc. No. - Provides the document number. This document number may have a hyperlink to the actual document filed at the court. If the document number is blue and underlined, the document may be viewed by clicking on the hyperlink. If the number is black, it is not available online. Dates - The date this document was filed/entered/terminated. April 2012 73 Description - A brief description of the document filed (unless Display Docket Text was chosen as a display option on the previous screen). Next to the description is a silver bullet. The silver bullet does not link to the actual document but to the docket text for that entry. The date the event was electronically entered on the docket appears within the docket text. This date may differ from the file date if the document was filed manually and not docketed the same day it was received. Notice of Bankruptcy Case Filing The filing of a bankruptcy case automatically stays certain actions against the debtor and the debtor s property. If anyone attempts to collect a debt or take other action in violation of the Bankruptcy Code, they may be penalized. This is the official notice of this filing. Included in this notice are the date and time the bankruptcy was filed, the debtor(s) name, address and last four digits of their social security number, attorney representing the debtor(s), trustee assigned to the case (if applicable), and the judge assigned to the case. Party This is a list of all parties associated with a specific case, the type of party (e.g., defendant), and the date the party was added to or terminated (if applicable) from the case. The names and addresses of the attorneys that represent the parties are also listed. Related Transactions Each selected transaction in this case is shown in a box with any other transactions that it is linked or related. Status The Status menu option provides the current status for a specific case (e.g., Awaiting Closing Order). Included in the information is the status, the date the status was established, and the event that established the status. April 2012 74 U.S. Bankruptcy Court CM/ECF Report Options Report Search The first screen that appears after clicking Reports from the blue bar may vary slightly in each court. It is typically a list of menu options for various reports you may access. Cases Select this menu option to retrieve a list of bankruptcy cases and adversary proceedings filed by date range. The Cases report has general default settings; however, the report may be customized to be more specific. The following selections may be changed to customize the report: Office - Indicates the divisional office in which the case was filed. Case type - ap for Adversary Proceeding, bk for Bankruptcy, or mp for Miscellaneous Proceeding. Chapter - You may choose any or all chapters to be included in the report. Use the control button on the keyboard when clicking on non-consecutive items in the list to highlight specific items. Trustee - You may choose to sort reports for cases assigned to a trustee. Date Type - You may choose to display the report according to Filed Date, Entered Date, Discharged Date, Dismissed Date, Closed Date, or Converted Date. From/to - Choose a beginning and ending date to display all cases between the dates entered. Cases displayed will be representative of the sort NOTE: Do not enter a date range that is too broad. Doing so can result in difficulty receiving the data in addition to accruing charges for a large report. April 2012 75 option (Date Type) above. Enter dates in MM/DD/YYYY format. Open cases/Closed cases - Click these boxes to produce a report containing open cases, closed cases, or both (if both boxes are checked) filed within the date range selected. Party information - Click this box to display addresses for all parties listed on the report. Sort By - Multiple sort options are provided within this report. They are Sort by Filed Date, Entered Date, Case Number, Case Type, (Divisional) Office, and Trustee. Output Format - Type of format in which the report will be displayed. Formatted Display - Provides selections in HTML web page format. Data Only - Provides a file containing raw data in pipe delimited format. When selecting the raw format, the data is displayed as follows: Case Year|Case Sequence|Chapter|Date Filed|Court Name|Last Name|First Name| Middle Name|Generation|Social Security Number|Tax Id|Street Address|Address 2|Address 3|City|State|5 Digit Zip Code|4 Digit Zip Code Extension The selections above will produce the requested report. The report provides the Case Number/Related Case Info, (Case) Type, Party Info., Judge/Trustee, Dates (Filed, Entered), and Other Info. (Office, Asset, Fee, County). Docket Activity Report Based on the selection criteria and date range entered, this report will provide all docket activity entered during the specified date range. If you enter a specific case number, the maximum fee will not exceed the cap of 30 pages ($3.00). April 2012 76 Case number - Type in a case number, if applicable, otherwise leave blank. Office - Narrow results by choosing the office location where case is filed. NOTE: Omitting the case number will not cap the results. Be aware that several hundreds of new documents are submitted daily to each individual court; therefore, the results may be substantial. It is strongly recommended to enter only one day at a time. Case Type - Narrow results by choosing a case type. Category - Narrow results by choosing a category. Open cases - Check to narrow results to include only open cases. Closed cases - Check to narrow results to include only closed cases. Entered between - Select a date range. Summary Text - Summary of case. Full Docket Text - Full docket text. Sort by - Sort by case number or date/time. Docket Sheet Select this menu option to enter a specific case number, specify a date range (if desired), and specify a document range (if desired) to obtain the Docket Report. You can choose to include all terminated parties, active parties and counsel, and member cases. The report may be sorted by oldest date first or most recent date first. For more details see the description of the docket sheet under the Query Options menu. Claims Register A Claim is a right to payment or a right to an equitable remedy for a breach of performance if the breach gives rise to a right to payment. A Creditor must file a Proof of Claim form along with documentation evidencing the validity and amount of the Claim. The Court is required to keep a list of Claims filed in a case when it appears that there will be a distribution to Unsecured Creditors. This menu option provides a list of claims filed in the case with relevant information for the specified case. April 2012 77 To search for claims enter a case number. Search results can be limited by adding a creditor name, claim number, a range of claim numbers, or leave blank to retrieve all claims. The default date range is the first day of the current month to the current day. Be sure to expand the date range to cover the life of the case being searched in order to view all claims filed for that case. This report may be sorted alphabetically by Creditor Name, numerically by Claim Number, or by Filed Date. The information displayed for each claim includes the case number and debtor s name (this is a hyperlink to the docket report for the case), Claims Bar Date and Government Bar Date, Creditor Name and address, Claim Number (may be hyperlinked to the actual claim filed), Date Claim Filed, Filing Status, Filed Late (Y/N), Deficiency, Unliquidated, Amount Claimed, Class (Administrative, Priority, Secured, Unsecured), Total, Amount Allowed, Duplicates Claim Number, Duplicated by Claim Number, Amends Claim Number, Amended by Claim Number, Remarks, and Description. The information above may vary in each court. Creditor Mailing Matrix The Creditor Mailing Matrix provides creditor names and addresses in either a one column label format, a three-column label format, or raw data (unprocessed) format. These options may vary by court. When selecting the raw data format option data is displayed as: Case Number|Name of Creditor|Address 1|Address 2|Address 3|Address 4 An example of an entry with blank fields is as follows: Case Number: 96-12345 Name of Creditor: Bugs Bunny Address 1: [blank] Address 2: 12345 Bunny Road Address 3: [blank] Address 4: Washington, DC 12345 The raw data will appear as: 96-12345|Bugs Bunny||12345 Bunny Road||Washington, DC 12345 Calendar Events The Calendar Events menu option provides a listing of past and/or future calendar events for one case or multiple cases. This listing contains the date, time, case number, and brief explanation of the specific events. April 2012 78 Written Opinions The Written Opinions menu option provides a listing of written opinions made by the court for the date range entered. Written opinions have been defined by the Judicial Conference as any document issued by a judge or judges of the court sitting in that capacity that sets forth a reasoned explanation for a court s decision. The responsibility for determining which documents meet this definition rests with the authoring judge. This functionality will only be available in courts that have installed Bankruptcy Court CM/ECF version 3.0 or higher, and will only provide free access to opinions filed after the court is actively using version 3.0. Utilities Menu Some of the menu options under this category may vary in each court. CM/ECF Login The CM/ECF Login feature provides the ability to enter an Electronic Case Filing (ECF) login and password. This login/password is issued by the court and allows you to file documents electronically. The court s Local Rules and procedures dictate who is eligible to receive an ECF login/password. An ECF login/password does not allow you to view documents. Change Client Code The Change Client Code menu option provides a means to change a client code to track charges on future billings. In order for a client code to appear on a statement, you must enter the code prior to a search. You can change the client code several times during a session. 1. Enter up to thirty-two characters in the client code field. April 2012 79 2. Click on Submit. If you don t click Submit, the client code entered will not be accepted. Change Your PACER Account This option allows you to switch from one PACER account to another. Clear Default PACER Login This new option removes the association between your CM/ECF login and your default PACER account. After selecting this option you will be prompted to enter your PACER login/password each time you retrieve case information. Court Information This menu option displays vital court information, including the court s name, software version of CM/ECF and the date the court went live on CM/ECF, file size limitation for documents, descriptions of public flags, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address, hours of operation, and the PACER Service Center's address, phone number, and e-mail address. Review Billing History This option generates a billing history report. Included in the Billing History is the date the transaction occurred, NOTE: The totals provided by Billing History now include the time the search charges incurred from accessing a docket report from a court began, the number of using the link provided by the PACER Case Locator. In the pages for the past, you may have had to visit each court to get that report. transaction, the client code (if applicable), the description of the type of information provided, and the search criteria entered to run the search. 1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click on Billing History. Choose All Courts or a specific court from the drop down list. Choose how you want the output sorted, whether by Date, Client code, Court/Date or Court/Client Code. Choose whether to display details or just a summary. Choose to see a formatted report, or download the report. Enter a start and end date for the billing transactions in the specified location. If you do not enter dates, you will get a report for the current date. Click on Run Report. 80 7. April 2012 View PACER Account Information This option displays the PACER login and client code (if applicable) for the current session. Legal Research The Legal Research feature provides a means for linking to sites that contain a Law or Medical Dictionary. It is designed to assist in understanding the documents submitted to the court. Some courts may not offer this feature. Logout The Logout feature provides a means to logout or exit the CM/ECF PACER system. April 2012 81 Chapter 9: U.S. Courts of Appeals The U.S. Courts of Appeals hear appeals from the district courts located within their circuit, as well as appeals from decisions of federal administrative agencies. There are 94 U.S. judicial districts that are organized into 12 regional circuits. To see a list of the circuits and the states which make up those circuits, visit PACER Documents at http://www.PACER.gov. The instructions provided in this section pertain to traditional PACER as the Courts of Appeals are in the process of implementing CM/ECF. This will occur by the end of 2008. Search Options The screen that appears after successfully logging in is the PACER search screen. In order to retrieve a docket report, you must enter either a case number or party/attorney name. Docket Sheet by Case Number Enter the appellate case number and click on the OK button to the right. You NOTE: Billing is based on the number of must enter the case number as ##-#### pages in the docket sheet before the where the first two digits are the year removal of the blank lines. and the last four or five digits are the number (i.e., 96-1211 or 96-11211). The case selection will return a one page summary April 2012 82 that includes the short title (i.e., Smith V. Jones), nature of suit code, districts of origin, lower court docket number, lower court judge, and the latest docket entries for the case. There is a one page charge for the case summary. The summary page will also display the page count and cost for viewing the full docket. To view the full docket and the opinions, if available, click on either Full Docket or Opinions. Court opinions are offered at no charge. When viewing the full docket, the entire text of the docket sheet is displayed and blank lines are removed. This makes it easier to view the docket sheet, and printing will produce fewer physical pages than the original version of the docket sheet. Docket Sheet by Party Name To display a list of cases for a party and/or attorney, enter all or part of the person's last name and first name separated by a comma. The search is not case sensitive and spaces are not necessary. For example, Jones, Jim and jones, jim are the same search. Do not use wildcards (such as * ) in either the first or last names. Entering Smi will find Smiley, Smith and Smithers. Entering Smi, Jo will find Joe Smiley, John Smiley, Jonathan Smith and JoAnn Smithers. Check or uncheck the Party and Attorney check boxes to select the search criteria to be used. Click on Search to display a listing of cases that match the criteria searched. This list will provide the case number, Party/Attorney Name, and Short Title. The list of matched cases is displayed one page at a time. If more than one page exists for the list, the option Next is provided at the top and bottom of the list in order to retrieve the next page. To view more information for a NOTE: Court opinions are offered at no charge. case from the list, click on the case number to display the case summary. The case summary consists of a one page summary that includes the short title (i.e., Smith v. Jones), nature of suit code, and district of origin, lower court docket number, lower court judge, and the latest docket entries on the case. There is a one page charge for the case summary. The summary page will also display the page count and cost for viewing the full docket. To view the full docket and the opinions, if available, click on either Full Docket or Opinions. When viewing the full docket, the entire text of the docket sheet is displayed and blank lines are removed. While this makes it easier to view the docket sheet, printing will produce fewer physical pages than the original version of the docket sheet. Billing is based on the number of pages in the docket sheet before the removal of the blank lines. Other PACER Options April 2012 83 PACER Service Center This option links to the PACER Service Center website at http://www.PACER.gov. New Login This option allows the PACER login and password to be reentered or changed from one PACER account to another. 1. 2. Click on New Login. Enter assigned PACER login and password at the ID and password prompt. An optional thirty-two character client code may be entered at the client code field for tracking charges. Click on Submit. 3. Change Client The Change Client menu option provides a means to change a client code to track charges on future billings. In order for a client code to appear on a statement, it must be entered and updated prior to a search. You can change and update the client code several times during a session. 1. 2. 3. Click on Change Client. Enter up to thirty-two characters in the client code field. Click on Update. If you don t click Update, the client code entered will not be accepted. Billing History This option generates a billing history report. Included in the Billing History is the date the transaction occurred, NOTE: The totals provided by Billing History now include the time the search charges incurred from accessing a docket report from a court began, the number of using the link provided by the PACER Case Locator. In the pages for the past, you may have had to visit each court to get that report. transaction, the client code (if applicable), the description of the type of information provided, and the search criteria entered to run the search. 1 2. 3. 4. 5. Click on Billing History. Choose All Courts or a specific court from the drop down list. Choose how you want the output sorted, whether by Date, Client code, Court/Date or Court/Client Code. Choose whether to display details or just a summary. Choose to see a formatted report, or download the report. April 2012 84 6. 7. Enter a start and end date for the billing transactions in the specified location. If you do not enter dates, you will get a report for the current date. Click on Run Report. Comment The Comment menu option provides an option to send an e-mail message to the PACER Service Center. April 2012 85 This page unintentionally left blank. April 2012 86 Appendix A: Nature of Suit Code List 1 USA is a plaintiff 2 USA is a defendant 3 Private law suit 4 Diversity 5 Local or state issue CONTRACT 110 Insurance 120 Marine 130 Miller Act 140 Negotiable Instrument 150 Recovery of Overpayment & Enforcement of Judgment 151 Medicare Act 152 Recovery of Defaulted Student Loans (Excl. Veterans) 153 Recovery of Overpayment of Veteran s Benefits 160 Stockholders Suits 190 Other Contract 195 Contract Product Liability 196 Franchise REAL PROPERTY 210 Land Condemnation 220 Foreclosure 230 Rent Lease & Ejectment 240 Torts to Land 245 Tort Product Liability 290 All Other Real Property TORTS Personal Injury 310 Airplane 315 Airplane Product Liability 320 Assault, Libel, & Slander 330 Federal Employers Liability 340 Marine 345 Marine Product Liability 350 Motor Vehicle 355 Motor Vehicle Product Liability 360 Other Personal Injury April 2012 87 362 Personal Injury- Medical Malpractice 365 Personal Injury- Product Liability 368 Asbestos Personal Injury Product Liability Personal Property 370 Other Fraud 371 Truth in Lending 380 Other Personal Property Damage 385 Property Damage Product Liability BANKRUPTCY 422 Appeal 28 USC 158 423 Withdrawal 28 USC 157 CIVIL RIGHTS 440 Other Civil Rights 441 Voting 442 Employment 443 Housing/Accommodations 444 Welfare 445 Amer w/Disabilities-Employment 446 Amer w/Disabilities - Other IMMIGRATION 462 Naturalization Application 463 Habeas Corpus - Alien Detainee 465 Other Immigration Actions PRISONER PETITIONS 510 Motions to Vacate Sentence Habeas Corpus 530 General 535 Death Penalty 540 Mandamus & Other 550 Civil Rights 555 Prison Condition FORFEITURE/PENALTY 610 Agriculture 620 Other Food & Drug April 2012 88 625 Drug Related Seizure of Property 21 USC 881 630 Liquor Laws 640 RR & Truck 650 Airline Regulations 660 Occupational Safety/Health 690 Other LABOR 710 Fair Labor Standards Act 720 Labor/Management Relations 730 Labor/Management Reporting & Disclosure Act 740 Railway Labor Act 790 Other Labor Litigation 791 Employee Retirement Income Security Act PROPERTY RIGHTS 820 Copyrights 830 Patent 840 Trademark SOCIAL SECURITY 861 HIA (1395ff) 862 Black Lung (923) 863 DIWC/DIWW (405(g)) 864 SSID Title XVI 865 RSI (405(g)) FEDERAL TAX SUITS 870 Taxes (U.S. Plaintiff or Defendant) 871 IRS-Third Party 26 USC 7609 OTHER STATUTES 400 State Reapportionment 410 Antitrust 430 Banks and Banking 450 Commerce 460 Deportation 470 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations 480 Consumer Credit 490 Cable/Sat TV April 2012 89 810 Selective Service 850 Securities/Commodities/Exchange 875 Customer Challenge 12 USC 3410 890 Other Statutory Actions 891 Agricultural Acts 892 Economic Stabilization Act 893 Environmental Matters 894 Energy Allocation Act 895 Freedom of Information Act 900 Appeal of Fee Determination Under Equal Access to Justice 950 Constitutionality of State Statutes April 2012 90 Appendix B: Court Codes List Bankruptcy Courts Court Code akbke almbke alnbke alsbke arebke arwbke azbke cacbk cacbke caebke canbke casbk casbke cobke ctbke dcbke debke flmbke flnbke flsbke gambke ganbke Court Name ALASKA BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF ALABAMA MIDDLE BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF ALABAMA NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF ALABAMA SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF ARKANSAS EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF ARKANSAS WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF ARIZONA BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF CALIFORNIA CENTRAL BANKRUPTCY COURT - LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA CENTRAL BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF CALIFORNIA EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF CALIFORNIA NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF COLORADO BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF CONNECTICUT BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF DELAWARE BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF FLORIDA MIDDLE BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF FLORIDA NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF FLORIDA SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF GEORGIA MIDDLE BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF GEORGIA NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF April 2012 91 gasbke gubke hibke ianbke iasbke idbke ilcbk ilcbke ilnbke ilsbke innbke insbke ksbke kyebke kywbke laebke lambke lawbke mabke mdbke mebke miebke miwbke mnbke moebke mowbke GEORGIA SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF GUAM BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF HAWAII BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF IOWA NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF IOWA SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF IDAHO BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF ILLINOIS CENTRAL BANKRUPTCY COURT ILLINOIS CENTRAL BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF ILLINOIS NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF ILLINOIS SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF INDIANA NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF INDIANA SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF KANSAS BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF KENTUCKY EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF KENTUCKY WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF LOUISIANA EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF LOUISIANA MIDDLE BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF LOUISIANA WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MASSACHUSETTS BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MARYLAND BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MAINE BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MICHIGAN EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MICHIGAN WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MINNESOTA BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MISSOURI EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MISSOURI WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF April 2012 92 msnbke mssbke mtbke ncebke ncmbke ncwbke ndbke nebke nhbke njbke nmbke nvbke nyebke nynbke nysbke nysbkm nywbke ohnbke ohsbke okebke oknbke okwbke orbk orbke paebk paebke MISSISSIPPI NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MISSISSIPPI SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MONTANA BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NORTH CAROLINA EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NORTH CAROLINA MIDDLE BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NORTH CAROLINA WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NORTH DAKOTA BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NEBRASKA BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NEW HAMPSHIRE BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NEW JERSEY BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NEW MEXICO BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NEVADA BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NEW YORK EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NEW YORK NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NEW YORK SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF NEW YORK SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF MEGA NEW YORK WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF OHIO NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF OHIO SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF OKLAHOMA EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF OKLAHOMA NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF OKLAHOMA WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF OREGON BANKRUPTCY COURT OREGON BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF PENNSYLVANIA EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT PENNSYLVANIA EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF April 2012 93 pambke pawbke prbke ribke scbke sdbke tnebke tnmbke tnwbk tnwbke txebke txnbke txsbke txwbke utbke vaebke vawbke vibke vtbke waebke wawbke wiebk wiebke wiwbke wvnbke wvsbke PENNSYLVANIA MIDDLE BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF PENNSYLVANIA WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF PUERTO RICO BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF RHODE ISLAND BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF SOUTH CAROLINA BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF SOUTH DAKOTA BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF TENNESSEE EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF TENNESSEE MIDDLE BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF TENNESSEE WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT TENNESSEE WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF TEXAS EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF TEXAS NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF TEXAS SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF TEXAS WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF UTAH BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF VIRGINIA EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF VIRGINIA WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF VIRGIN ISLANDS BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF VERMONT BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF WASHINGTON EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF WASHINGTON WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF WISCONSIN EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT WISCONSIN EASTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF WISCONSIN WESTERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF WEST VIRGINIA NORTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF WEST VIRGINIA SOUTHERN BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF April 2012 94 wybke WYOMING BANKRUPTCY COURT CM/ECF District Courts Court Code akdce almdce alndce alsdce aredce arwdce azdce cacdce caedce candce casdc casdce codce cofce ctdce dcdce dedce flmdce flndce flsdce gamdce gandce gasdce Court Name ALASKA DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF ALABAMA MIDDLE DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF ALABAMA NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF ARKANSAS EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF ARKANSAS WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF ARIZONA DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF CALIFORNIA CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF CALIFORNIA EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF CALIFORNIA NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF COLORADO DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF UNITED STATES FEDERAL CLAIMS COURT CONNECTICUT DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF DELAWARE DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF FLORIDA MIDDLE DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF FLORIDA NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF FLORIDA SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF GEORGIA MIDDLE DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF GEORGIA NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF GEORGIA SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF April 2012 95 gudce hidce iandce iasdce iddce ilcdce ilndce ilsdce inndce insdce ksdce kyedce kywdce laedce lamdce lawdce madce mddce medce miedce miwdce mndce moedce mowdce msndce mssdce GUAM DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF HAWAII DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF IOWA NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF IOWA SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF IDAHO DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF ILLINOIS CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF ILLINOIS NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF ILLINOIS SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF INDIANA NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF INDIANA SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF KANSAS DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF KENTUCKY EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF KENTUCKY WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF LOUISIANA EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF LOUISIANA MIDDLE DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF LOUISIANA WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF MASSACHUSETTS DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF MARYLAND DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF MAINE DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF MICHIGAN EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF MICHIGAN WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF MINNESOTA DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF MISSOURI EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF MISSOURI WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF MISSISSIPPI NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF MISSISSIPPI SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF April 2012 96 mtdce ncedce ncmdce ncwdce nddce nedce nhdce njdce nmdce nmidce nvdc nvdce nyedce nyndce nysdce nywdce ohndce ohsdce okedce okndce okwdce ordce paedce pamdce pawdce prdce MONTANA DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NORTH CAROLINA EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NORTH CAROLINA MIDDLE DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NORTH CAROLINA WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NORTH DAKOTA DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NEBRASKA DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NEW HAMPSHIRE DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NEW JERSEY DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NEW MEXICO DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NEVADA DISTRICT COURT NEVADA DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NEW YORK EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NEW YORK NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NEW YORK SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF NEW YORK WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF OHIO NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF OHIO SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF OKLAHOMA EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF OKLAHOMA NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF OKLAHOMA WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF OREGON DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF PENNSYLVANIA EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF PENNSYLVANIA MIDDLE DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF PENNSYLVANIA WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF PUERTO RICO DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF April 2012 97 ridce scdce sddce tnedce tnmdce tnwdce txedce txndce txsdce txwdce utdce vaedce vawdce vidce vtdce waedce wawdce wiedce wiwdc wiwdce wvndce wvsdce wydce RHODE ISLAND DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF SOUTH CAROLINA DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF SOUTH DAKOTA DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF TENNESSEE EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF TENNESSEE MIDDLE DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF TENNESSEE WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF TEXAS EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF TEXAS NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF TEXAS SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF TEXAS WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF UTAH DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF VIRGINIA EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF VIRGINIA WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF VIRGIN ISLANDS CM/ECF VERMONT DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF WASHINGTON EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF WASHINGTON WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF WISCONSIN EASTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF WISCONSIN WESTERN DISTRICT COURT WISCONSIN WESTERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF WEST VIRGINIA NORTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF WEST VIRGINIA SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF WYOMING DISTRICT COURT CM/ECF Appellate Courts Court Code 01ca Court Name U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, FIRST CIRCUIT April 2012 98 01cae 02ca 03cae 04cae 05cae 06cae 07cae 08cae 09bap 09cae 10bap 10cae 11ca cafc dccae U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, FIRST CIRCUIT CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, SECOND CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD CIRCUIT CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, FOURTH CIRCUIT CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, FIFTH CIRCUIT CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, SIXTH CIRCUIT CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, SEVENTH CIRCUIT CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, NINTH CIRCUIT BAP CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, NINTH CIRCUIT CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, TENTH CIRCUIT BAP CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, TENTH CIRCUIT CM/ECF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, FEDERAL CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, D.C. CIRCUIT CM/ECF April 2012 99 Appendix C: Party Roles The Appendix in this User Manual contains only a partial list of possible Party Roles. Individual Courts are responsible for creating and maintaining Party Roles including custom roles. If you have questions about Party Roles not listed here or in the PACER Case Locator, check with the individual courts. District Courts Code 3pd 3pp a am arb cc cd clm con3df con3pl conclm concnc concnd concrc concrd condft conpla cr crc crd inre dft e gar dbpos intpl intv intvd intvp ip med mov mw obj pet Role ThirdParty Defendant ThirdParty Plaintiff Appellant Amicus Arbitrator Counter Claimant Counter Defendant Claimant Consol Third Party Defendant Consol Third Party Plaintiff Consol Claimant Consol Counter Claimant Consol Counter Defendant Consol Cross Claimant Consol Cross Defendant Consol Defendant Consol Plaintiff Creditor Cross Claimant Cross Defendant In Re Defendant Appellee Garnishee Debtor-in-Possess Interpleader Intervenor Intervenor Defendant Intervenor Plaintiff Interested Party Mediator Movant Material Witness Objector Petitioner April 2012 100 pla rc res sm tax trust cust Plaintiff Receiver Respondent Special Master Taxpayer Trustee Custodian Bankruptcy Code 3pd 3pp acc app aty auc aud aust br cc cd consult cr crc crcm crcmch crd db dbpos dft ex fa frep i id intp intr inv ip jdb jud liq md NFSpouse ombc Role 3rd Pty Defendant 3rd Party Plaintiff Accountant Appraiser Attorney Auctioneer Auditor Assistant U.S. Trustee Broker Counter-Claimant Counter-Defendant Consultant Creditor Cross-Claimant Creditor Committee Creditor Committee Chair Cross Defendant Debtor Debtor In Possession Defendant Examiner Financial Advisor Foreign Representative Interpleader Intervenor-Defendant Interested Party Interim Trustee Intervenor Intervenor-Plaintiff Joint Debtor Judge Liquidator Mediator Non-Filing Spouse Consumer Privacy April 2012 101 ombh op pla ptcrd ptnr r res sp stkhld surv sutr tr ust wit Ombudsman Health Care Ombudsman Other Professional Plaintiff Petitioning Creditor Partner Realtor Respondent Special Counsel Stockholder Surveyor Successor Trustee Trustee U.S. Trustee Witness April 2012 102 Appendix D: PACER Case Locator Download Formats All Searches Except MDL XML The XML file contains the XML version, followed by a tag, which encompasses the rest of the data (ending with ). Each record is wrapped in and each field is wrapped in its identifying tags (e.g., ). Mouse & Flippers Aloha db okwbke 3 22697 5 bk 7 11/17/2003 05/13/2004 02/27/2004 Discharged 02/27/2004 5:03-bk-22697 https://ecf.okwb.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?51128 Philip Franklin Farris and Carolyn Ann Farris ...(more data) April 2012 103 TEXT Sample text: Mouser, Aunglab db canbke 95 53039 5 bk 7 05/12/1995 08/21/1995 08/17/1995 Discharged 08/17/1995 5:95-bk-53039 https://ecf.canb.uscourts.gov/cgibin/iqquerymenu.pl?176181 Aunglab Mouser Mouser, Barbara cr orbke 94 62330 6 bk 13 06/16/1994 09/09/1999 07/11/1999 Discharged 07/11/1999 6:94-bk-62330 https://ecf.orb.uscourts.gov/cgibin/iqquerymenu.pl?92681 Carlos Barragan and Yolanda Barragan Specification: Field Party name Party role Court ID Case year Case number Case Office Case Type Case Chapter Nature of suit Date filed Date terminated Date dismissed Date discharged Disposition and date Case ID Case link (URL) Case Title Starting Column 1 122 133 143 148 154 156 167 172 177 188 199 210 221 244 267 348 Width 120 10 8 4 5 2 10 4 4 10 10 10 10 22 15 80 120 April 2012 104 CSV "Mouse & Flippers Aloha", "db", "okwbke", "3", "22697", "5", "bk", "7", "", "11/17/2003", "05/13/2004", "", "02/27/2004", "Discharged 02/27/2004", "5:03-bk22697", "https://ecf.okwb.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?51128", "Philip Franklin Farris and Carolyn Ann Farris" "MOUSE CALLS", "db", "azbke", "98", "596", "2", "bk", "7", "", "01/20/1998", "06/05/1998", "", "05/18/1998", "Discharged 05/18/1998", "2:98-bk-00596", "https://ecf.azb.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?278882", "GEORGE WILLIAM WHITE" Each field is wrapped in double quotes, and delimited by a comma. Each line is terminated by a single EOL. Here is the list of fields in each line: Field Party name Party role Court ID Case year Case number Case Office Case Type Case Chapter Nature of suit Date filed Date terminated Date dismissed Date discharged Disposition and date Case number (full) Case link (URL) Case Title April 2012 105 Multi-District Litigation Download Formats XML The XML file contains the XML version, followed by a tag, which encompasses the rest of the data (ending with ). Each record is wrapped in and each field is wrapped in its identifying tags (e.g., ). F----- caseid madce 1 1981 2189 Smith, Etc. 01/17/1991 Transfer 07/29/1991 Closed 10/16/1997 SMITH, ETC. 1:1981-cv-02189 https://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov/cgibin/ecf_redirect.pl?court=madce&case_num=1:1981-cv-02189 Smith, Et. Al. v. Johns-Manville Corp. ...(more data) April 2012 106 TEXT Sample text: F00875 C0MK0HP856 madce 1 1981 1452 Smith, Et. Al. v. Johns-Manville Corp. 01/17/1991 Transfer 07/29/1991 Closed 10/16/1997 SMITH, RALPH T. 1:1981-cv-01452 https://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/ecf_redirect.pl?court=madce&case_num=1:1981cv-01452 Smith, Et. Al. v. Johns-Manville Corp. F00875 C0MK0HP85M madce 1 1981 2189 Smith, Et. Al. v. Johns-Manville Corp. 01/17/1991 Transfer 07/29/1991 Closed 10/16/1997 SMITH, NORMAN R. 1:1981-cv-02189 https://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/ecf_redirect.pl?court=madce&case_num=1:1981cv-02189 Smith, Et. Al. v. Johns-Manville Corp. Specification: Field MDL ID Case ID Court ID Case Office Case year Number Case Title (caption) Date filed Disposition Disposition Date Terminated Status Date terminated Party name Case Number Case link (URL) Case Title Starting Column 1 12 23 32 37 43 50 151 162 185 196 219 230 311 392 493 Width 10 10 8 2 4 5 100 10 22 10 22 10 80 80 100 120 April 2012 107 CSV "F00875", "C0MK0HP856", "madce", "1", "1981", "1452", "Smith, Et. Al. v. JohnsManville Corp.", "01/17/1991", "Transfer", "07/29/1991", "Closed", "10/16/1997", "SMITH, RALPH T.", "1:1981-cv-01452", "https://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov/cgibin/ecf_redirect.pl?court=madce&case_num=1:1981-cv-01452", "Smith, Et. Al. v. JohnsManville Corp." "F00875", "C0MK0HP85M", "madce", "1", "1981", "2189", "Smith, Et. Al. v. JohnsManville Corp.", "01/17/1991", "Transfer", "07/29/1991", "Closed", "10/16/1997", "SMITH, NORMAN R.", "1:1981-cv-02189", "https://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov/cgibin/ecf_redirect.pl?court=madce&case_num=1:1981-cv-02189", "Smith, Et. Al. v. JohnsManville Corp." Each field is wrapped in double quotes, and delimited by a comma. Each line is terminated by a single EOL. Here is the list of fields in each line: Field MDL ID Case ID Court ID Case Office Case year Number Case Title (caption) Date filed Disposition Disposition Date Terminated Status Date terminated Party name Case Number Case link (URL) Case Title April 2012 108