General Information

Court Records:

Most court records are in electronic format and are accessible through PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records). To access PACER or to open a PACER account, go to www.pacer.gov.

Photography, Recording & Electronic Devices:

General Local Rule 83 prohibits the taking of any photographs of, making any recording in, or making any broadcasts from any of the courtrooms, jury rooms adjacent to the courtrooms, libraries, the grand jury room and adjacent areas, the clerk’s office, or the corridors located on the second, third and fourth floors of the Federal Courthouse in Milwaukee or the court-occupied space in Green Bay, without first obtaining written permission from the person in charge of those offices. These prohibitions do not apply to ceremonial proceedings.

Pursuant to the Federal Rules and Judicial Conference policy, no journalist or member of the public may photograph or record any court proceeding under any circumstances.

Court Proceedings and Remote Public Access:

Courtrooms generally are open to the public.  The court hearings calendar can be found here.

Subject to certain limitations, a judge may allow remote public audio access to some civil hearings.  Criminal hearings are subject to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53 and Judicial Conference policy and are not allowed to be livestreamed.

On occasion, the Court may set up a closed-circuit video feed to another room in the courthouse to accommodate additional observers and members of the media.

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53. Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited

“Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.”

Clerk’s Office Information:

Additional Resources:

Cases of Interest

A Journalist’s Guide to the Federal Courts