Finding Your Way around
the Courthouse
Federal & State Courts Go Digital
Court Records Online
– PACER - Public Access to Court
Electronic Records
– Case Management: CM/ECF
– State Courts Access & Filing
Court Records Online: Basic Principles
• E-record is official
– Paper is a format, not the “original”
– Paper is expensive
• E-documents preferable to paper
– No preparation or scanning
– Cost savings
• Judicial process remains unchanged.
Accessing Court Records
• PACER
• Remote 24-hour access; concurrent access by
multiple parties.
• Download directly from court
• Automatic email notice of case activity
• Records include • How would you use this information?
• Privacy concerns?
Filing Court Records
• Case Management: CM/ECF
• Registration required; use restricted
• Remote 24-hour access; concurrent access by
multiple parties.
• Automatic email notice of case activity
• Parties responsible for content – privacy
concerns
Why Research Court Records?
• Only 3.2% of federal civil cases and 11% of
federal criminal cases make it to trial completion
• Only 15% of federal district court decisions are
reported
• Only 50-70% of federal appellate court decisions
are reported (varies by circuit)
• 30-50% of federal and state appellate court
decisions are unreported
Docket Sheets v. Documents
• Docket = chronological table of contents to
a court file
• Many courts post docket sheets
• Fewer courts post documents
Docket Sheets Can Provide:
• Information about
clients & potential
clients
– Is the client litigious?
– Has the client filed for
bankruptcy? Filed a
legal malpractice
action? Been involved
in fraud?
– Been sued for
attorney’s fees?
• Information about
potential hires
– Routine background
checks
• Bankruptcy
• Debt
• Fraud
– Conflicts between firm
and prospective hire’s
existing clients
Dockets for Current Awareness
• Has my client been sued, but not served?
• Who else has sued the party my client
wants to sue?
• Who is suing whom?
• Hot topics in litigation
Documents Can Provide:
• Sample pleadings
• Background information on types of cases heard
by particular judges
• Types of cases opposing counsel usually handle
• How judge typically rules on motion for summary
judgment.
• Access may be restricted to protect parties
Accessing Court Records - PACER.
PACER password is
available for Duke
law students. Ask at
Reference desk.
A Nature of Suit
search lets you
retrieve other cases
with same assigned
topic. Here – airplane
litigation suits.
How courts address
privacy concerns.
Other Ways to Access Court Records
• Justia - PACER front end & more
• Courtlink - a component of “Total Litigator” from
Lexis
•
•
•
•
Westlaw’sCourtExpress
Legal Dockets Online
LLRX database linking to court rules
Some services include state court records.
Justia: no charge to search federal
district court dockets.
Subscribe to an RSS feed of all
new cases by “Nature of Suit” topic.
Conduct a search and subscribe
to an RSS feed of the search
results.
Link to PACER and news about
case.
Link here.
Courtlink
is not
available
with law
school
licenses.
File & Service
is not available
with law school
licenses.
Discovery: An Early Step in Litigation
• Massive quantity of information in variety of
formats
• E-documents, voice mail, email, IM
• Legacy systems
• Unresolved questions
• Litigation holds & preservation of materials
• Spoliation and adverse inference instructions
• Cost sharing
• Changing expectations for “Meet & Confer”
• Impatient judges; confused lawyers
• More rule changes coming.
Discovery on Lexis - Total Litigator
Court documents on
Westlaw – compare
with PACER. Not all
docs are on Westlaw.
Not available with
law school licenses.
Westlaw’s answer to Lexis Total Litigator
Court Rules – a fair & smooth operation
• Basic rules for litigation
–
–
–
–
–
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure – FRCP
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
Federal Rules of Evidence
Rules are in USCA, USCS, court websites…
State court rules – usually part of annotated code –
less jurisdictional variation
• Rules for particular courts – ex. S.CT
• Provide uniformity, but w/ local rule
variations
Do Court Rules Matter?
• Rules of the game
• Courts interpret rules –
– Case annotations are crucial
– USCA and USCS rules volumes or online
• Federal Rules Decisions
• Shepards & KeyCite to update
• Secondary sources
– For commentary & more
– Moore’s Federal Practice, 2d
– Federal Practice and Procedure
Go here to reach the website
Final Thoughts
• The Clerk of Court
can be your friend
• Read court rules &
local variations
• Learn about opposing
counsel & judge
• Pay attention to
litigation process –
discovery rules,
forms, etc.