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PaperclipPerfector  6d ago (text post)   2221 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 27, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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>be me
>interested in reading cases where US citizens (not aliens) are prosecuted for marriage fraud
>PACER's search function is useless
>GovInfo and RECAP's search functions return mostly false positives
>a Westlaw subscription would cost 100 $/mo
>try to hire four different "legal researchers" (who I assume are paralegals) on Fiverr for up to 30 $ with a simple query: "I would like the docket numbers for the last twenty convictions of citizens (not aliens) for 8 USC 1325(c) (marriage fraud). I assume that such information is available through legal subscription services."
>they all flake out without explanation (and without asking for more money)

Can the lawyer denizens of this website explain to me why this is so difficult? Am I underestimating the billable hours that would be required for this seemingly simple search even with the fancy tools of Westlaw/Lexis/whatever? Am I really obligated to hire a lawyer at 200 or 400 $/h for the privilege of knowing which files I should download from PACER?

they all flake out without explanation (and without asking for more money)

Maybe because they don't have nor are willing to pay for access to the databases holding the documents.

Westlaw and Nexis aren't going to include trial level cases that didn't result in published opinions; that's not really what it's for. The answer is that you have your paralegal look into it and prepare for disappointment. I wish I could just search my local court by subject so I could find a cheat sheet when I have to file something I've never filed before, but no such function exists. I could give you my process but it's useless unless you're concerned about cases filed in Allegheny County, and even then it involves looking at a lot of cases and requires access to back issues of the local legal journal. The fivver people were probably too embarrassed to tell you that your request was impossible to fulfill. DOJ usually issues press releases for convictions, so you could try looking there.

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