Court Dockets, Records, & Rules
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About Court Dockets and Records
A docket is a "formal record in which a judge or court clerk briefly notes all the proceedings and filings in a court case." (From Black's Law Dictionary, 11th ed. 2019.) After a case is filed, the court assigns it a docket number, which is the court's case number or tracking number. The docket lists the judge, parties, and the attorneys of record, along with a summary of each document filed in the case, the date when it was filed, and the court case number assigned to the document.
A docket number may be composed of a number or letter indicating the court, a two-digit number to identify the year, the case type (either CV/cv for civil cases or CR/cr for criminal cases), a four- or five-digit case number, and the judge’s initials. For example, 1:21-cv-5678-MW is the docket number for the 5,678th civil case filed in the year 2021 and assigned to court number 1 and the Honorable Martha Washington.
Court records may include the case file containing the docket sheet and all documents filed in the case, as well as other documents generated during the proceedings, including, for example, trial transcripts and instructions to juries. The online availability of court dockets and records depends on the jurisdiction. Some have free online docket systems; others require a subscription to their docket system.
Note: to obtain Bloomberg Law, Lexis, or Westlaw credentials, send an email request to electronicservices@law.gwu.libanswers.com and include your full name, @law email address, GWID, graduation year, and service(s) for which you are requesting an account.
Federal Courts
Subscription & Fee-Based Sources:
- Bloomberg Law: Dockets Search
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Broad coverage of federal court dockets and filings, including those of the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts. Users can ensure a docket is current by noting the "Current As Of" date, on the right side of the docket. If it is not up to date, click "Update Docket" (green rectangle), wait a minute, and then refresh the page. To determine what dockets and documents are available in Bloomberg Law, as well as the dates covered, go to the "Litigation" drop-down and select "Docket Coverage." To determine how much of an individual academic user's annual $1,500 docket charges cap remains (which resets each year on July 1), go to the "Account" drop-down after logging in and select "My Dockets Billing." - CourtLink (Lexis)
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Coverage of federal court dockets, including those of the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts. - Westlaw: Dockets
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Coverage of federal court dockets, including the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts. - PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records)
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PACER provides public access to court dockets, case reports, and the more than one billion documents filed with the U.S. Courts of Appeals and U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts through the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system. Maintained by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which oversees the Electronic Public Access program for the Federal Judiciary.
Free Sources:
- Free Law Project: CourtListener's RECAP Archive
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"The RECAP Archive is a searchable collection of millions of PACER documents and dockets. PACER is the government-run system where nearly every legal document is filed from federal cases. The archive also includes every free PACER opinion." - Justia: Dockets & Filings
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Selected coverage of the U.S. Courts of Appeals and U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts. - LegalDockets.com
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Provides links to court sites and docket systems, organized by jurisdiction. - Supreme Court of the United States: Docket Search
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"The Supreme Court’s docket system contains information about cases, both pending and decided, that have been filed at the Court. The docket provided here contains complete information regarding the status of cases filed since the beginning of the 2001 Term. Users can search for the docket in a particular case by using a Supreme Court docket number, a case name, or other words or numbers included on a docket report."
Historical Court Records:
- National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): Court Records
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"Court Records at the National Archives cover more than 200 years of court proceedings at the federal level. The earliest court records in our holdings date to approximately 1790. . . . Generally, federal court records less than 15 years old are still in the possession of individual courts and are not held by the National Archives. To obtain access to those records, researchers must contact the appropriate federal court" (see Federal Court Finder). - Federal Court Records Disposition Schedules
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The retention and disposition of judiciary records are controlled by records disposition schedules (RDSs) jointly established by the Judicial Conference and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Included in the Guide to Judiciary Policy, the schedules govern most judiciary records, including those that federal courts create and maintain in electronic or paper case files.
State Courts
Subscription & Fee-Based Sources:
- Bloomberg Law: Dockets Search
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Selected state court dockets and filings. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. To determine what dockets and documents are available in Bloomberg Law, as well as the dates covered, go to the "Litigation" drop-down and select "Docket Coverage." To determine how much of an individual academic user's annual $1,500 docket charges cap remains (which resets each year on July 1), go to the "Account" drop-down after logging in and select "My Dockets Billing." - CourtLink (Lexis)
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Selected state court dockets and filings. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. - Westlaw: Dockets
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Selected state court dockets and filings. Coverage varies by jurisdiction.
State Court Docket Systems and Sites:
- National Center for State Courts: State Court sites
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"Provides judicial branch links for each state, focusing on the administrative office of the courts, the court of last resort, any intermediate appellate courts, and each trial court level." - LegalDockets.com
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Provides links to court sites and docket systems, organized by jurisdiction.
Specialized Docket Services
- Docket Navigator
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Docket Navigator covers the following practice areas: Patent; Copyright; Trademark; Trade Secret; Antitrust; and Securities. For a free academic account, send an email to contact@docketnavigator.com and provide your first and last name, GW Law email address, and, for students, anticipated date of graduation (month/year); for faculty and deans, your title. - Lex Machina
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"Lex Machina (a part of LexisNexis) provides Legal Analytics to law firms and companies, enabling them to craft successful strategies, win cases, and close business." Lex Machina provides free access to "certain university and college faculty staff and students, directly engaged in research, or study of law and policy." Users must view a brief online training demo in order to obtain or renew a user account.