Courthouse News Service is an American news service primarily focusing on civil

litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...

. It offers both free and paid services. Its core audience is lawyers and

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

s, who subscribe to the service;
Courthouse News Service v. Schaefer
', Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-39 (E.D. Va. February 20, 2020). other subscribers include nonprofits, government agencies, corporations, other media outlets, and academic institutions. Courthouse News has reporters across the United States who cover proceedings in state and federal trial courts and appellate courts for its non-paywalled public website. Its reporters also cover federal and state legislation and

congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

activity. It is a member of the Senate Press Gallery. In addition to digital print journalism, Courthouse News produces a podcast called Sidebar. It launched in May 2021.

Paid subscription service

Unlike CourtExpress and CourtLink, Courthouse News Service does not provide comprehensive docket information; rather, it alerts paid subscribers to new filings and rulings. As of 2020, the service had more than 2,200 subscribers. It is a competitor to

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational content-driven technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and maintains its headquarters at 1 ...

LexisNexis LexisNexis is an American data analytics company headquartered in New York, New York. Its products are various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper searc ...

, and

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

History and awards

Courthouse News Service was founded in 1990 by Bill Girdner, who remains the news agency's owner and editor. It is based in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the group received between $2 million and $5 million in federally backed small business loans from City National Bank as part of the

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and ...

. The organization stated that the money would help it retain 256 employees. In 2023, Girdner received the James Madison Award for his

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

court victories.

Press access litigation

Courthouse News Service has been the plaintiff in numerous First Amendment court cases seeking quicker access to new complaint filings.

Idaho

In 2024, Courthouse News Service won a key victory in the Northwest where a federal judge handed down a broad ruling that enjoined Idaho’s top court official from withholding public documents.

Ohio

In March of 2023, U.S. District Judge Sarah Morrison ordered the Franklin County court clerk

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

to stop withholding e-filed complaints from public view during a clerk review process, as a result of litigation filed by Courthouse News Service.

Vermont

A federal judge in November 2021 enjoined Vermont court clerks from withholding access to e-filed complaints. She decided in favor of news outlets contesting an access blackout while clerks review and process new court filings.

Other states

Courthouse News has also secured injunctions over press access battles in Virginia, Illinois, New York, Texas, and California.

References

External links

* {{official website News agencies based in the United States Companies based in Pasadena, California American legal websites Mass media in Pasadena, California