Growing Number of US Courts Offering Online Digital Audio

According to the federal courts administration agency in the United States, a pilot project to provide public access to digital audio recordings of court proceedings will expand to more courts.

Currently 5 courts are involved. The number will grow to 9 by the end of this year.

"The U.S. Court of Federal Claims and three bankruptcy courts — in the Middle District of Florida, Eastern District of New York, and Rhode Island — are being added to the project. Rhode Island already is offering the recordings online, and the other three courts are moving toward implementation."

"They join the five original pilot courts — U.S. District Courts in Nebraska and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in the Eastern District of North Carolina, Northern District of Alabama, and Maine."

"The audio files are accessible through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system. More than 950.000 subscribers use PACER to access docket and case information from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts."

In Canada, webcasts of Supreme Court of Canada proceedings have been available online since February.