In the case of United States Department of Justice v. Tax Analysts, 1988, the Supreme Court ruled that under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), federal agencies are required to make court decisions available for public inspection and copying if those opinions are used by the agency in its work. The dispute began when Tax Analysts requested copies of all district court tax decisions received by the Department of Justice's Tax Division but was denied access on grounds that these documents were publicly accessible elsewhere. However, it was found that many rulings were not readily available as they had not been reported or indexed in any legal database system at that time. The Supreme Court held a unanimous decision stating such records constituted "agency records" subject to FOIA requirements even though they originated from courts rather than administrative processes within an agency itself.

In the dissenting opinion for the United States Department of Justice v. Tax Analysts case, it was argued that making court opinions publicly available is a fundamental aspect of our democratic system and should not be subject to fees or restrictions imposed by government agencies. The dissenters believed that the majority's decision would allow federal agencies to charge excessive fees for access to public records, thereby limiting public scrutiny and undermining transparency in government operations. They also disagreed with the majority's interpretation of FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act), arguing that it was intended to provide broad access to governmental information rather than allowing agencies discretion over what they can charge for such information. In their view, this ruling could potentially hinder investigative journalism and other forms of public oversight over government activities.