REQUEST FOR EXEMPTION FROM ELECTRONIC PUBLIC ACCESS FEES BY LAKIA FAISON

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
IN RE REQUEST FOR EXEMPTION
FROM ELECTRONIC PUBLIC ACCESS
FEES BY LAKIA FAISON
Misc. Action No. 25-171 (JEB)
ORDER
This matter is before the Court upon Lakia Faison’s application and request for
exemption from the fees imposed by the Electronic Public Access fee schedule adopted by the
Judicial Conference of the United States Courts. See LCvR 40.7(g) (“[T]he Chief Judge
shall . . . consider requests for exemptions by academicians, researchers and other nonlitigants
from the user access fees for the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service.”).
The Court finds that Faison, as a doctoral candidate at George Mason University, falls
within the class of users listed in the fee schedule as being eligible for a discretionary fee
exemption to use the PACER system. See Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule, Jud. Conf.
(Dec. 31, 2019), https://tinyurl.com/mr4xd642. Additionally, Faison has demonstrated that an
exemption is necessary in order to avoid unreasonable burdens and to promote public access to
information. Faison has shown, moreover, that the research project described in the application
is intended for scholarly research, that it is limited in scope, and that it is not intended for
redistribution on the internet or for commercial purposes.
Accordingly, the Court ORDERS that Faison shall be exempt from the payment of fees
for access via PACER to the electronic case files maintained in this court, to the extent such use
is incurred for the research purposes described in the application, and that Faison shall not be
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exempt from the payment of fees incurred in connection with other uses of the PACER system in
this court. Additionally, the following limitations apply:
1. 	This fee exemption applies only to Faison and is valid only for the purposes stated
above;
2. 	This fee exemption applies only to the electronic case files of this Court that are
available through the PACER system;
3. 	By accepting this fee exemption, Faison agrees not to sell for profit any data
obtained as a result of receiving this exemption;
4. 	Faison is prohibited from transferring any data obtained as a result of receiving
this exemption, including redistribution via internet-based databases, unless
expressly authorized by the Court;
5. 	This fee exemption is granted until January 31, 2026; and
6. 	This fee exemption may be revoked at the discretion of the Court at any time.
The Clerk of the Court shall send a copy of this Order to the PACER Service Center.
/s/ James E. Boasberg
JAMES E. BOASBERG
Chief Judge
Date: December 4, 2025
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