litigant

The provision concerns so-called qui tam actions, in which private litigants bring lawsuits on behalf of the government as well as themselves.

“They’re a more effective way for litigants and the public to get a sense of what types of individuals and groups a judge might be hanging out with and learning from,” he said.

In fact, she wrote, “the Court seriously doubts that there is any valid justification for depriving litigants of a verbatim transcript when a ready technological means for providing one is available.”

In other cases, courts are asking litigants to explain how recent Supreme Court decisions could impact their claims.

They fund the astroturfed nonprofits that go out and find the litigants that bring these cases.