I’m on the fence over this issue. Yes, it’s egregious for citizens to have to pay a lot of money to access court records. At the same time, the system provides

I’m on the fence over this issue. Yes, it’s egregious for citizens to have to pay a lot of money to access court records. At the same time, the system provides an independent source of funding for the judiciary. If Congress succeeds in tearing down this paywall then courthouses will become more reliant on Congress to fund them in the budget. It’s not hard to see how some future Congress might hold the judiciary hostage by cutting funding.