General Overview
The United States District and Bankruptcy Court for the District of Idaho serves over 1.1 million people. Access to the court records is through the Internet and through PACER (and subsequently, CaseStream, CourtExpress, & CourtLink). Wade Systems, Inc. provides the Internet interface, called RACER, and was developed in conjunction with the information systems personnel of the court. Wade Systems also provided the technology solution for basic case imaging and public access to those dockets and documents. The court information systems personnel developed the calendars and bankruptcy mailing matrices.

Court Record System Overview
Nearly everything in the court record systems is available through Electronic Public Access. All district and bankruptcy dockets, document images, calendars, judgements, motions, orders, decisions, local rules and more. 
 

Court Case Filings	1998 Reported Filings
Bankruptcy	6,500
Civil	600
Criminal	150

Electronic Public Access Methods
Access to the court docket, calendars, rules and procedures can be obtained through the Court's Internet site at www.id.uscourts.gov. To access case information, users click on "civil/criminal case files" and enter the case number. A chronological summary of all documents in the case will be shown as well as the parties involved in the case. If the case is imaged, users simply print the documents needed. For printing remotely, users must have an Internet browser and software for viewing TIFF image files. Access within the courthouse is through PC's located in the copy center. 

Available Information
The public has access to over 45,000 cases, but not the same access as the court employees. Security and privacy concerns limit the type and amount of information presented to the public. Users accessing the court records need a personal computer with web access to view all basic dockets. To view the actual document, users need a TIFF viewer plugin for their browser. To view and print the courts forms, users need Adobe Acrobat reader; to fill out the PDF forms online, users need Adobe Acrobat reader, version 3.02 or higher.

Subscribers & Fees
Access to the public records is available through the Internet and through PACER. Internet access is free of charge, PACER charges are $.60 a minute for dial-up service. An access fee of $.07 per page is assessed for access to PACER service on the Internet. Since the court records are available through PACER, CaseStream, CourtExpress, and CourtLink all provide access to these court records through their systems. 

Development & Maintenance Costs
The court reports development required about one man-year. This does not include the time invested in conjunction with Wade Systems. Approximately $45,000 was required for computer hardware and equipment. Web connectivity costs about $465 per month.

Court & EPA Staffing Information
There are approximately 95 employees at the United States District & Bankruptcy Court for the District of Idaho. This includes six (6) technical staff in the information systems department and three (3) clerks at the counter. The court reports approximately 1/4 of a position is required to maintain the Electronic Public Access, mostly handling maintenance of the Web applications and updates.