Orders of the Courts ... For Free?

摘要

Case law is public record, right? Ask 10 people at random on the street, and more than half of them will probably reply that they think it is. Since our federal and state courts are an outgrowth of the municipalities where they are situated, we can infer that decisions made by judges (appointed by public officials or via elections) are public record. While obvious differences exist between public records, they are easily obtainable, and judge's decisions are indeed open. This means that anyone with the will and a few dollars (either at the library, the court, or online) could locate and read any court decision.