UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
IN RE: APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION Administrative Order
FROM THE ELECTRONIC PUBLIC No. 20-MS-055
ACCESS FEES BY BRENT JOHNSON
/
This matter is before the Court upon the application and request by Brent Johnson
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 Brent Johnson, a law librarian working on research with a law
professor at Widener University Commonwealth School of Law, falls within the class of
users listed in the fee schedule as being eligible for a fee exemption. Additionally, Johnson
has demonstrated that an exemption is necessary in order to avoid unreasonable burdens
and to promote public access to information.
Accordingly, Johnson 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 researching the number of immigration cases filed in the U.S.
District Courts that have specific Nature of Suit (NOS) codes and specific Cause of Action
identifiers to better understand the success and failure rates of these particular types of
immigration cases, and also see if trends can be identified on how the Courts decide
whether to hear these types of cases during different time periods. Johnson 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 Johnson, and is valid only for the
purposes stated above;
2. This fee exemption applies only to the electronic case files of this Court that
are available through the PACER system;
3. By accepting this exemption, Johnson agrees not to sell for profit any data
obtained as a result of receiving this exemption;
4. Johnson is prohibited from transferring any data obtained as a result of
receiving this exemption, including redistribution via internet-based
databases;
5. This exemption is valid until July 31, 2021.
This Order may be revoked at the discretion of the Court at any time. A copy of
this Order shall be sent to the PACER Service Center.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
FOR THE COURT:
Dated: August 12, 2020 /s/ Robert J. Jonker
ROBERT J. JONKER
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
