Note The library cannot tell you what the law means for your situation.
The Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is a federal court records database. There is a fee to search and to view the documents, but some records can be viewed for free. See the PACER Fee Schedule for information about fees.
There are several ways to access PACER for free. It is available for free at public terminals in federal courthouses. Academic researchers may submit an application for a fee exemption. Other researchers may also request an exemption by directly contacting a federal court. More information is on the U.S. Courts website.
CourtListener is a free database that mostly provides legal opinions from federal and state courts. The RECAP Archive provides access to the free documents found in PACER, except you won't have to pay a fee to search them.
Some paid documents from PACER may be available as well, but only if another user has uploaded them to the RECAP Archive.
The U.S. Federal Courts website has information about other ways to access some court records, including paper records, historical records, and bankruptcy records.
The U.S. Supreme Court's page on Locating Court Documents explains where to find U.S. Supreme Court case files. It includes opinions, briefs, dockets, and more.
You can access various court records through legal databases like Lexis, Westlaw, and Fastcase. State Law Library patrons can use Fastcase remotely to find final opinions for select Texas and federal appellate cases. Lexis and Westlaw are available at the library in person.
Other court records such as petitions and briefs are only available through the add-on services. The library does not subscribe to the add-ons, but other law libraries might have access.
Note The library cannot tell you what the law means for your situation.