US Court Administration Office (USAO)
Will the members of this group advocate for uniform pro se access to cm/ecf filing rights, sealed documents and also basic access to justice which is constantly denied?
OCT 12, 2021
Electronic Public Access Public User Group
The Electronic Public Access (EPA) Public User Group will provide a forum for PACER users to share and recommend ideas for expanding and improving EPA services.
The EPA Public User Group’s mission is to provide advice and feedback on the development, implementation, and enhancement of electronic public access services provided by the federal Judiciary, including but not limited to PACER, PACER Case Locator, Multi-court Voice Case Information System applications, and the availability of electronic court records. Learn more about the public user group.
If you would like to provide feedback or comments regarding any of the electronic public access services to the AO and Public User Group, please email epa_publicusergroup@ao.uscourts.gov(link sends e-mail).
Membership
James Christopher Allman, assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas;
Adam Angione, Midwest and Northeast bureau chief, Courthouse News Services;
JoAnn DiSanti, associate director of managing clerks, New York City-based White & Case law firm;
Nicholas C. Goldrosen, a student at Williams College in Massachusetts;
Todd Michael Higey, general counsel, Employment Screening Services, representing the National Association of Professional Background Screeners;
Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.;
Margo S. Kirchner, general counsel and development director, the Wisconsin Justice Initiative;
Tyler G. Mills, team lead, Bloomberg Law;
Robert F. Patrick, reporter with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch;
Theresa A. Reiss, law librarian for the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress;
Gabriella Sarnoff, assistant managing attorney at the Debevoise & Plimpton law firm headquartered in New York City; and
Warren Thomas, principal at the Atlanta-based Meunier Carlin & Curfman law firm.
Meeting Information & Resources
Meeting agendas, meeting summaries, and other resources related to the EPA Public User Group are posted on this page when available.
July 21, 2021 Meeting Agenda (pdf)
February 16, 2021 Meeting Summary (pdf)
February 16, 2021 Meeting Agenda (pdf)
October 26, 2020 Meeting Agenda (pdf)
October 26, 2020 Meeting Summary (pdf)
June 29, 2020 Meeting Agenda (pdf)
June 29, 2020 Meeting Summary (pdf)
Seamus Hughes is the Deputy Director of the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University. Hughes has authored numerous academic reports on extremism in America and published a critically acclaimed book, Homegrown: ISIS in America. He regularly provides commentary to media outlets, including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, the Atlantic, CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews, BBC, PBS, and CBS’ 60 Minutes. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on multiple occasions.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Hughes also assists as a New York Times research journalist, working with their D.C. and Investigative Bureaus on a myriad of stories related to the federal court system. In 2022, he was part of a New York Times team that won a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting on law enforcement in America.
Hughes previously worked at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), serving as a lead staffer on U.S. government efforts to implement a national terrorism prevention strategy. He regularly led engagements with Muslim American communities across the country, provided counsel to civic leaders after high-profile terror-related incidents, and counseled families of individuals who joined terrorist organizations. Hughes created a groundbreaking intervention program to help steer individuals away from violence through non-law enforcement means and worked closely with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Fusion Centers, and U.S. Attorney Offices.
Prior to NCTC, Hughes served as the Senior Counterterrorism Advisor for the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He organized over a dozen congressional hearings on the threat of homegrown violent extremism and was a key member in multiple far-reaching congressional investigations.
Hughes has authored numerous legislative bills, including sections of the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act and the Special Agent Samuel Hicks Families of Fallen Heroes Act. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, and a recipient of the National Security Council Outstanding Service Award and two NCTC Director’s Awards for outstanding service. He teaches classes at George Washington University and Georgetown University.
Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Service Committee: Low Cost, High Impact: Combatting the Financing of Lone-Wolf and Small-Scale Terrorist Attacks, September 6, 2017
Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Combatting Homegrown Terrorism, July 27, 2017
Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee: Allies Under Attack: The Terrorist Threat to Europe, June 27, 2017
Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee: Countering the Virtual Caliphate, June 23, 2016
Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security: The Rise of Radicalization: Is the U.S. Government Failing to Counter International and Domestic Terrorism?, July 15, 2015
Will the members of this group advocate for uniform pro se access to cm/ecf filing rights, sealed documents and also basic access to justice which is constantly denied? @WhiteCase @WilliamsCollege @USAO_Kansas (🙃) @CourthouseNews @rxpatrick @CRSReportsLib @PBSA (rebranded) https://t.co/FinUwisC9L
— LawsInTexas (@lawsintexasusa) October 13, 2021
Margo S. Kirchner
Wisconsin Justice Initiative Inc., Milwaukee
Email: margo@wjiinc.org
Platform Statement
I have several valuable strengths for service on the Wisconsin Judicial Council, most notably my in-depth knowledge of court practice and procedure (civil and criminal) from decades of experience processing cases through the federal trial court. I have analyzed a wide range of state and federal constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law.
And I have extensive experience managing cases involving pro se litigants trying to navigate the judicial system.
I look for practical solutions, and I prefer plain language rather than complicated legalese.
If elected, I will advocate for clear and understandable rules and procedures for the benefit of attorneys, pro se litigants, judges, and court staff.
Public service is important to me. I am honored to be nominated for the Judicial Council position and look forward to serving as your representative.
Biography
Margo Kirchner is general counsel and development director of Wisconsin Justice Initiative Inc. (WJI), a nonprofit seeking to improve the Wisconsin justice system and educate the public about important justice-related issues.
Prior to joining WJI, Kirchner spent 23 years in public service in the federal courts, most recently serving as career law clerk to the Honorable Charles N. Clevert, Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
She also clerked for the Honorable William C. Griesbach, the Honorable Lynn Adelman, the Honorable Robert W. Warren, and the Honorable Terence T. Evans (in the Eastern District and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals).
Kirchner served on the Eastern District’s Local Rules Committee in 2009 and 2010 and co-authored A Guide to Civil Judgments for use by district-court clerk’s office and chambers staff. Early in her career she practiced at the law firm of Gammage & Burnham PLC in Phoenix, Arizona.
Trained and certified as a mediator by the Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies, Kirchner mediates Milwaukee County foreclosure cases on a pro bono basis for the Metro Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program.
The Wisconsin Law Journal named Kirchner as a Women in Law Award winner in 2010. She was inducted as a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation in 2017 in recognition of her accomplishments in the legal profession and her leadership and service in her community.
Kirchner is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Association for Women Lawyers (past president), the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association, and the Thomas E. Fairchild Chapter of the Inns of Court. She sits on the board of the Association for Women Lawyers Foundation and is president of the Concord Chamber Orchestra.
Kirchner graduated from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Michigan Law School.
What Homeowners Need to Know if You’re Facing Foreclosure in Texas Federal Courts
If you are facing foreclosure in Texas Federal Court, there’s a lot of legalese to learn. But will you receive access to justice in court?
It’s Petty and It’s Unconstitutional. Y’all at SDTX Federal Court are Violatin’ Civil Rights of Texas Citizens
One cannot allow one federal court in the State of Texas to allow pro se to file electronically and another deny all pro se litigants.
Henry, Show Cause Why You Ain’t Gonna Be Sanctioned for Bein’ Pro Se in S.D. Tex.
Pro Se has 10 days to file a response without the benefit of ECF filing, because Judge Vanessa Gilmore says that is ATTORNEY PRIVILEGED.
