Attorney Resources: Eighth Circuit Cases in FDsys Pilot Program
Free, reliable attorney resources are hard to come by, so Eighth Circuit practitioners will be pleased to learn that the Government Printing Office (GPO) has launched a free Eighth Circuit case repository pilot program.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is the only appellate court to participate in the pilot program, which launched in October. The program enhances access to federal court opinions through the Federal Digital System (FDsys), an outgrowth of the GPO.
More than 12,000 opinions from the Eighth Circuit, the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida are available to the public through FDsys pilot program.
The Judicial Conference approved the pilot project in March 2010. Although the project initially anticipated 12 pilot courts, the Conference voted in March 2011 to expand it after 35 courts volunteered to participate.
How does FDsys differ from GPO Access? In 1993, the GPO Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act expanded free online access to federal publications, including court opinions. The GPO launched GPO Access in 1994. FDsys is the GPO's latest generation of online information, launched in 2009, and will replace GPO Access at the end of this year.
Want even more access to Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals cases? In addition to FDsys, the following websites are great attorney resources for Eighth Circuit opinions:
- Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)
- FindLaw's Eighth Circuit Cases
- Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
For more information on news and information about the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, check out FindLaw's Eighth Circuit blog.
Related Resources:
- Pilot Project Enhances Public Access to Federal Court Opinions (US Courts)
- Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Hangs by Eleventh Amendment Thread (FindLaw's Eighth Circuit blog)
- Eighth Circuit Permits Downward Variance Absent Fast Track Program (FindLaw's Eighth Circuit)