Dockets and Court Documents in State and Federal Courts: Federal Courts

There are several free options for obtaining federal court case dockets and documents (below).  None of the databases have 100% of all cases, but it is always best to start with the free sources and then move to the subscription sources only when needed, as costs add up quickly!

RECAP (PACER spelled backwards) is a free, publicly accessible database of federal court filings (U.S. District and Appellate courts).  You do not need an account to search.  It collects court filings through its users via a browser extension.  When a user has the RECAP extension installed and is using PACER, every docket or PDF purchased on PACER is added to RECAP’s archive.

• If you are a frequent user of PACER, download the RECAP extension;
• You can search RECAP regardless of whether you have installed the extension.

Justia has select case dockets and documents for U.S. District and Appellate court cases.  There are several different search options:

• By Circuit;
• By Type of Lawsuit (e.g. Contract, Real Property, etc.);
• By State.

Supreme Court case documents are often available for free right on the Supreme Court's website.  Check the following pages:

• Docket Search: input a docket number, party name, or keyword to bring up a docket with (sometimes) downloadable case documents;
• Oral Argument Transcripts;
• Oral Argument Audio;
• Orders of the Court (a vast majority of cases end in summary dispositions, which are accessible through this page).

For more detailed information about accessing Supreme Court materials, check out our SCOTUS LibGuide.

The U.S. Tax Court has its own system for filing and obtaining case information.  Some, but not all, documents are downloadable.  Try the following pages:

• Dockets;
• Orders;
• Opinions;
• Transcripts.

The UCLA law library has subscriptions with the database providers below, such that UCLA law students, faculty, and staff may search them.  That said, we recommend developing the habit of searching free sources first: one reason being that once in practice, you will be paying heavily for access to the databases below; the second reason being that Bloomberg limits academic account access both individually and institutionally.  Therefore, it is best practice to use these systems for docket access only after exhausting other options.

Lexis has select case documents from federal courts.  There are several different databases for locating case filings:

• Briefs, Pleadings & Motions (contains briefs, pleadings, motions, and "other" case documents);
• Dockets;
• Expert Witness Materials;
• Jury Verdicts & Settlements.

Additionally, law school users have access to Lexis Courtlink, which has select dockets and case documents.

Select case filings are available by searching a few different databases:

• Trial Court Documents (including items such as pleadings and motions);
• Briefs;
• Trial Transcripts & Oral Arguments;
• Expert Materials;
• Jury Verdicts & Settlements;
• Dockets.

Fastcase is available to UCLA Law users via VPN or Remote Desktop.  You can access a limited number of case filings through Fastcase (currently limited to THREE (3) documents per user).

For patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, antitrust, and securities cases, Docket Navigator is a great option for both dockets and documents.  UCLA Law members may obtain a free academic account by emailing contact@docketnavigator.com.

Bloomberg Law has dockets and case documents for select state and federal courts, accessible through its Litigation Intelligence Center.  Try the "Dockets Advanced Search" to input any details you have about the case, e.g. party name, court, date.

**Note that UCLA Law accounts have restrictions on how many pages may be downloaded.  If you have a particularly large download project, please contact a librarian for more information before searching.**