NewsBeat

July 2023 NewsBeat 11 By CLARK MERREFIELD How to find facts and stories in civil court dockets: Seven tips from a whistleblower attorney A ttorney Eugenie Reich has tips and insights for finding facts and story ideas within court dockets for civil lawsuits. Reich was an investigative reporter from 1998 to 2015, including for Nature, New Scientist and other science journalism out- lets. She is author of the 2009 book "Plastic Fantastic," chronicling the faked discovery of a superconductor made of plastic. Since 2018, she has worked in the Boston area as a lawyer representing whistleblowers. A court docket is a record of everything that has happened during the course of a particular litigation, including court rulings, filings of key documents and notices of scheduled court hearings. In the U.S., federal court dockets can be found via the Public Access to Court Elec- tronic Records online portal, or PACER. State and local courts often have their own online systems for accessing dockets. Local courts sometimes call them "trial dockets" or "county dockets." Dockets, briefs, motions and other doc- uments are ten cents per page on PACER with a cap of $3 per document. There is also a fee for searching PACER, which var- ies depending on the number of results. There is no fee limit for searches, or for accessing transcripts — though the first $30 of charges per quarterly period is free. Court opinions are always free on the platform, and through the U.S. Government Publishing Office. Case information is also free at any federal courthouse. Historical and current meta data, such as when a case was filed, where and by whom, is available through the Integrated Data- base of the Federal Judicial Center. There are other, fully free options for obtaining federal civil court records. Court Listener offers millions of opinions, dock- ets and documents. The RECAP browser extension automatically uploads to Court- Listener case information that PACER users download. These and other tools, including alerts when federal dockets change, were created by the nonprofit Free Law Project. Reich has advice about navigating court dockets, including when in the court proceedings facts begin to be presented to a judge, where to turn for help under- standing dockets and why dockets can be useful sources of factual information, regardless of the legal outcome of a case. 1. Familiarize yourself with common terms and types of documents found within court dockets. Legal arguments are the arguments lawyers make on behalf of their clients. These arguments center on interpreta- tions of the law — meaning they may be subjective and motivated by gaining a favorable outcome for their side. A motion to dismiss is a written re- quest for a court to throw out a case based on the legal viability of its claim, not the facts presented. Even if a case is dismissed on legal grounds, "there still may be an ethical concern [reporters] would want to write about," Reich said. Facts will become particularly evident when you see a motion for summary judgment. This type of motion is one side claiming there are enough facts available for the court to make a judgment without having to go to a jury trial. A motion for partial summary judgment would refer only to specific parts of the case. "Motion for summary judgment is the time when some people's claims are going to be decided without [a] trial, so it needs to be a very factually sound kind of record for the court to get that ruling," Reich said. Look for a statement of material facts for fact-related filings. These are facts attorneys present to the court, for exam- ple, in support of a motion for summary judgment. They often include statements made under oath by people involved in the case, which may include private citizens, government officials or company representatives. Another common term is a motion in limine, which is filed before a trial begins and is a request from one side asking the court not to admit certain evidence into the record at trial. The discovery phase of a lawsuit is when both sides lay their supporting information and facts before the court. Look for attach- ments, which may include expert testi- mony, or affidavits, which are statements made by individuals under oath that the court has decided may be relevant to the case. 2. Reach out to lawyers not involved with the case you are covering for help understanding information in court dock- ets. If you need additional help reading a docket, especially a complicated one span- ning years with dozens or hundreds of mo- tions and filings, reach out to lawyers who work within similar areas of the law but are not involved with the case you are covering. "There are folks at law schools who are very good, there are people at nonprofits, there are people at law firms who may be happy to comment on other people's cas- es," Reich said. Lawyers working on a case will be lim- ited in their ability to comment by profes- sional ethical rules. Still, attorneys actively involved in a litigation may be able and willing to describe their client's claim or defense, help you understand informa- tion within a public record, and respond to statements made by others about their client's case. 3. When you're able, attend court hearings — the judge and parties may discuss information that is redacted in transcripts. Courts may take days or weeks to pro- duce transcripts of important hearings and make them available online. They may also redact certain information — even if the hearing was open to the public. In the Biogen case, a hearing in July 2022 See COURT, Page 13

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