Accessing Federal Court Records

by Iconoclast  (iconoclast@thepentagon.com)

The federal government kindly provides public access to information from almost 200 federal district, bankruptcy, and appellate courts.

Documentation such as case and docket information including parties, judges, lawyers, and judgments is readily accessible electronically.  This information does not come for free, but it is fairly cheap and affordable for the curious hacker.

The system that unifies the access to these records is called PACER: Public Access to Court Electronic Records.  The standard PACER service allows access to district court records, while a different system called National Integrated Bankruptcy System (NIBS) allows searches of bankruptcy records including social security numbers!  A third system for federal circuit court records is ABBS: Appellate Bulletin Board System.

Access comes in two forms.  One is modem dial-up access to each of the individual courts and the other is via the web if it has been implemented for that particular court.

There are two dial-ups for each court.  One is an 800 number that can be used from anywhere and there is also a local dial-up.  For a complete list of both dial-up numbers and all web addresses check: pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/modem.pl.  Nearly all dial-ups are set to 8N1 with VT100 terminal emulation.  A few of the dial-ups require pcAnywhere software (passwords listed on the web page) or 7E1 settings.

The dial-up service costs 60 cents a minute and the web service costs seven cents a page.  Billing is quarterly, however it is free to register.  A username and password will be mailed to you within two weeks.  This username/password combination is a universal login that works across all of the computers in the PACER/NIBS/ABBS systems.  You will need to supply your name and address as well as email to obtain an account.  The login is in the format of two lowercase alpha characters which are the initials of your first and last name followed by four numeric characters.  The password is a combination of eight lower case alpha and numeric characters.  Check pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/regform.html for the online registration form.

Let's say that you've signed up for an account and now you finally get a nice brown envelope in the mail with your login packet.  What are you going to do with it?  You remember hearing something on the news about Kevin Mitnick being denied a bail hearing and now want to verify the information content and accuracy directly for yourself because you can't believe that such a travesty of justice could occur in this country?

Hmm... let's look up Kevin Mitnick's court records!  First you warm up your modem and fire up some term software and dial up into the United States Party/Case Index (USPCI) which is a nationwide index of court case information.  We will select a criminal search because of the nature of the case and then type in Kevin's name.  We find about eight court records.  Sometimes the actual records will be stored on the particular court computer where the case was heard.  That would require dialing into that specific computer to retrieve the information.

Selecting Case Number 2:96CR00881 we then find some astonishing reading.  In response to a request concerning the date of a bail hearing we see the dishonorable Judge (((Mariana R. Pfaelzer))) state: "THE COURT: I AM NOT GOING TO GIVE HIM BAIL."  The first federal prisoner denied a bail hearing in United States history!  That judge sure knows how to screw up impartial justice.

What about those SSNs on NIBS?  After dialing-up the court computer and logging in, there is an option Search by SSN/TAX # but unfortunately it does not allow wildcards.

However, you can instead choose the option to List New Cases.  You specify a date range and you can pull a listing of hundreds of names with addresses and Social Security numbers of people in your neighborhood, or elsewhere that are having a little financial trouble!

Let's do a brief security analysis of PACER.  The restrictions on characters available for password choice make it somewhat weak, however, given the application it may be acceptable.  The PACER inquiry computers are on a separate system from the main court host computers which is a very good idea.  It means that there will be a delay of about a day in obtaining recently updated court information, but it also prevents Joe Criminal from attempting to erase or modify his court records.  The easy availability of massive listings of Social Security numbers was surprising and could potentially lead to fraud and abuse of a group of people who have already had their share of financial difficulties.

I predict that access to federal court records for the average hacker will become more and more important as our government starts to persecute and prosecute those who engage in honorable technological exploration.

"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge..." - Hosea 4:6