Litigation Resources: What is a Docket and Where to Find Them

DOCKET - A formal record in which a judge or court clerk briefly notes all the proceedings and filings in a court case. Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019)

Dockets are "a log containing the complete history of each case in the form of brief chronological entries summarizing the court proceedings." Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. They contain all the filings in a court proceeding, such as complaints, motions, and briefs.

Dockets are usually maintained by the clerk of the court where the case was filed. Many dockets are available online though there is variation in availability across courts and time periods.

Why Use Dockets

• Docket searching can be a useful step in the research process. As you research your appellate brief, you may find it helpful to look at briefs and other case filings from similar and/or related cases.
• Dockets are helpful to contextualize and understand a particular piece of litigation.
  • They could help estimate the length of similar case
  • Provide a convenient timeline with all previous and future hearing and trial dates
  • Figure out what types of documents are filed in a particular type of action (motions, supplemental materials, expert reports etc)
  • List of parties involved in the action and their attorneys (usually includes attorney firm name & sometimes contact info)
  • Determine if a type of case is tried more often as a bench or jury trial
  • Docket numbers of related cases, Court & Judge presiding over case
  • Determine if a type of case seems to go to trial in a particular jurisdiction or if they seem more likely to settle
  • Disposition of a case if it has already concluded
• Determine litigation trends—are more of these cases being brought in one jurisdiction over another? Do they tend to be class actions?
• List of expert witnesses and documents containing their deposition or trial testimony
  • What types of experts tend to testify in this type of case?
• Sometimes links to the filed documents themselves (depending on database)
• Figure out what claims to bring
  • Sometimes links to opinions and appellate docket or briefs
• Preemption checks
  • Law firms check before taking on new clients