For those of you interested in searching court dockets, another option for the academic legal community has recently entered the mix.
Lexis has just made its dockets available to law school subscribers (like us) via CourtLink. To access, from the default Legal tab, click on “Court Records, Briefs, and Filings,” then select “Court Records,” then select “Litigant, Attorney, & Judge Strategic Profiles.” You can also access Lexis dockets from the Total Litigator tab, under Litigation. A new window will open where you can enter your search terms. Results can be filtered and narrowed using the criteria on the left. You can set an “Alert” via the Alert tab to notify you of newly filed cases involving parties or persons of interest.
Westlaw offers select state and federal court dockets via CourtExpress. From the Directory, click on “Litigation,” then select “Dockets (Court Docket Information).” From here you can search all available state and federal dockets, or a more narrow subject or jurisdiction based collection of dockets. To stay abreast of newly filed cases, you can create a “Docket Alert” via the Alert Center (link on top right of screen).
Options outside of the wexis duopoly are varied. For a directory of state and federal dockets, try LLRX. This free service provides direct links to state and federal court dockets, rules, and forms.
CourtPort allows research within public records and dockets. Free access is provided to faculty, students, and staff at educational institutions, though individual registration is required.
PACER provides on-line access to federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy court records and documents nationwide. Please contact the reference desk for assistance.
Justia offers federal district court docket info, with some PDFs of filed documents when available.
Any questions? Please ask us!
