Description
Summary
Add support in Juriscraper for retrieving and totaling a user's PACER charges for a specified date range (e.g. current quarter), directly via the PACER billing interface.
Use case
I want a one-command way to check my PACER usage — e.g. "charges this quarter: $12.80" — without manual navigation. Ideal for tracking usage against the $30 quarterly waiver.
Proposal
- Extend the existing PACER auth/session logic
- Emulate the “View Detailed Transactions” form submission
- Parse the resulting table(s) to extract and sum the "Charge" column
- Return a structured summary (e.g., dict with date_range and total)
- Optionally, export raw transactions as CSV or JSON
Benefits
- Supports fee-conscious users and researchers
- Could expand set of users willing to help drive PACER data to RECAP
- Leverages existing PACER login scaffolding
- Enhances Juriscraper’s utility beyond case data
Implementation pointers
See Free Law Project documentation: PACER billing page details
Auth handled in juriscraper/pacer/http.py
Note: this text was initially drafted by ChatGPT while I was exploring my options for helping Free Law Project get more PACER data within my free usage waiver, without risking actual charges. And that chatbot (among others) could oof course be very useful for implementing this feature.
Thanks folks!