Date post: | 19-Jul-2015 |
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Law |
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DOCKET RESEARCH
&
PACER
By Dittakavi Rao
What is a docket & docket sheet?
A docket is a list of every case before a court.
A docket sheet is the record in which a court
clerk notes a case's number, the names of the
parties involved, and all the proceedings and
filings in a case.
Official Court Websites
U.S. Supreme Court
(www.supremecourt.gov)
Pennsylvania Appellate Courts
(www.pacourts.us)
Allegheny County Court Records
(https://dcr.alleghenycounty.us)
Pennsylvania Appellate Courts
Go to official court website
Pennsylvania Courts – www.pacourts.us
Click on ‘Docket Sheets’ on top right
Select the court
Get the docket number by calling CLERK of the court
Allegheny County Court Records
Go to Allegheny County Department of Court
Records – https://dcr.alleghenycounty.us
Select, criminal/civil and click on search
Enter Case
ID
WESTLAWNEXT
Coverage
No full text
LEXIS ADVANCE
No Text for
documents
No Text
BLOOMBERG LAW
No text to the
documents
PACER
(PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT ELECTRONIC
RECORDS)
Most of federal court records
before 1999 are available
only in print. They are
stored either at courthouses
or at FRC.
PACER (Public Access to Court
Electronic Records)
The PACER System offers electronic access to case dockets to
retrieve information such as:
A listing of all parties and participants including judges, attorneys,
and trustees
A compilation of case related information such as cause of action,
case number, nature of suit, and dollar demand
A chronology of dates of case events entered in the case record
A claims registry
PACER – CONTD…
A listing of new cases each day
Appellate court opinions
Judgments or case status
Types of documents filed for certain cases
Many courts offer imaged copies of documents PACER
obtains docket information from the courts that
participates in CM/ECF system
CM/ECF (Case Management/Electronic
Case Filing)FEATURES & BENEFITS
CM/ECF allows courts to accept filings and provides access to filed
documents online. CM/ECF gives access to case files by multiple parties,
and offers expanded search and reporting capabilities
Ability to file documents/pleadings electronically with the court
Automatic email notices of case activity for parties in a case
No delays or added expenses associated with mail or courier services
Instant access that allows easier case tracking
Less physical storage space and document processing times
Secure and reliable
Immediately updated and available court dockets
The CM/ECF system for bankruptcy courts began
implementation nationally in early 2001.
The district court CM/ECF system began to roll out
nationally in May 2002.
Implementation of the CM/ECF system for
appellate courts began in 2005.
Over 41 million cases and 500 million documents
are on CM/ECF systems and more than 700,000
attorneys across the country are filing documents
electronically.
Court Information
Click on Court Information in the top bar menu to get a pop-up window of
courts listed
with the court abbreviations used by the PACER Case Locator, earliest case
date and most recent case date.
This list also tells you which courts are or are not on the PACER Case
Locator.
Currently, only one court is not on the PACER Case Locator, the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
You can click on the court link to go directly to that court’s web site.
United States Supreme Court is not part of PACER
Court Information – Federal Courts in
Pennsylvania
Third Circuit – Starting from 5/30/1974
PA. Eastern District – Starting from 6/21/1970
PA. Middle District – Starting from 3/1/1964
PA. Western District – Starting from 1/2/1950
Case Locator
The PACER Case Locator is a national index for the U.S. District Courts, U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, and U.S. Courts of Appeals. You can reach the PACER Case Locator from the PACER Find a Case page.
Subsets of data are collected from the courts and transferred to the PACER Case Locator.
The index serves as a locator index for the federal judiciary’s Electronic Public Access services. A nationwide search will determine the location of a case for a party that is involved in federal litigation.
You can access detailed information on cases found while searching the PACER case locator
Search Options
The PACER Case Locator allows you to search nationwide by
case number,
party name,
complete or last four digits of a social security number,
case filing dates, and much more.
The search criteria vary with court type, depending on the relevancy of
the search
information. For example, only Bankruptcy lets you search for a social
security number,
and only Appellate and Civil cases include searches by nature of suit.
Full text
Fee
No registration fee
$0.10 per page – View, Print or Download
No charge if usage is under $15 in a quarter
$2.40 charge for a audio file of court hearings
You will not be charged more than $3 when you access documents or case-
specific reports that are more than 30 pages. However, the 30-page cap
does not apply to name search results, lists of cases, or transcripts (when
available online).
In forma pauperis status does not automatically entitle you to free access
to PACER. Users must petition the court separately to request free access
to PACER.
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES
COURT EXPRESS (Westlaw)
Court Wire (Westlaw)
COURT LINK (LexisNexis)
DocketFish (www.docketfish.com)
Pacerpro (www.pacerpro.com)