In re Elec. Pub. Access Fees

Full title: IN RE EXEMPTION OF ELECTRONIC PUBLIC ACCESS FEES

Court: United States District Court, W.D. North Carolina

Date published: Feb 22, 2024

1:23-MC-15 (W.D.N.C. Feb. 22, 2024)

Opinion

1:23-MC-15

02-22-2024

IN RE: EXEMPTION OF ELECTRONIC PUBLIC ACCESS FEES

Martin Reidinger, Chief U.S. District Judge

ORDER

Martin Reidinger, Chief U.S. District Judge

This matter is before the Court upon application and request by Mr. John P. Benson for exemption from the fees imposed by the Electronic Public Access fee schedule adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United States Courts.

The Court finds that Mr. Benson is a Master's Degree student at the University of St. Andrews and is requesting this exemption to access cases to conduct research on right-wing extremist terrorism in the United States between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2023. He is seeking access to a limited number of criminal cases to view to the public court documents of individuals who were arrested, indicted, convicted, and/or sentenced on domestic terrorism charges during this time. He qualifies for an exemption, and one is needed to avoid unreasonable burden and promote public access. Mr. Benson shall be exempt from the payment of fees for access via PACER to the electronic case files maintained in this Court, to the extent such use is incurred in the course of this limited request. He shall not be exempt from the payment of fees incurred in connection with other uses of the PACER system in this Court. Additionally, the following limitations apply:

1. This fee exemption applies only to Mr. Benson and is valid only for the purposes stated above.

2. This fee exemption applies only to the electronic files of this Court that are available through the PACER system.

3. By accepting this exemption, Mr. Benson agrees not to sell for profit any data obtained because of receiving this exemption.

4. Mr. Benson is prohibited from transferring any data obtained because of receiving this exemption, including redistribution via internet-based databases; and

5. This exemption is authorized until April 15, 2024.

This exemption may be revoked at the discretion of the Court at any time. Pursuant to Judicial Conference policy, the Clerk shall review the usage of the account as part of the Court financial audit process. The Clerk is DIRECTED to provide a copy of this Order to the PACER Service Center and Mr. Benson.