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From: Bill Beard
Date: 5/23/98
Time: 9:29:06 AM
Remote Name: 208.194.210.178
The information is already there, already computerized, already accessible at public access computer terminals. The public has paid for all of this, and the marginal cost to make the information accessible over the internet is relatively low.
Charging fees for access to this information will have the effect of keeping the public uninformed and ignorant. [see FN1 below]
An "uninformed and ignorant public" is not a goal anyone would publicly support. But some apparently do support it, though they are careful to state other reasons publicly.
Our society purports to value freedom, truth, and justice. In light of the facts and our societal values, the choice is clear -- we must make court information publicly available, free, over the internet.
[Footnotes To Follow]
[FN1] Two examples of how fees keep people from accessing public information are available in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Dallas County makes some of its information available over a crude and non-user-friendly interface for a dollar a minute via a "900" number. Since it takes some time to learn to use the system, and since the system is so crude, the general public is effectively excluded.
Tarrant County makes some of its information available for just a nickel a minute, but requires a monthly fee of twenty-five dollars. That fee is justifiable for a lawyer practicing regularly in Tarrant County or for a Dallas or Tarrant County news organization, but not for the general public. [End FN1]