This research guide introduces you to resources for finding briefs, oral arguments, and docket information. It also provides information on visiting local courts in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The law library does NOT reimburse for PACER, which charges $.10 per page VIEWED. If you need to research court records and suspect that you might need access to PACER, please schedule a meeting with a reference librarian. We can discuss alternative sources for court records as well as sources for funding in the event that you need to use PACER.
Faculty and faculty research assistants are encouraged to use all alternative methods to find docket information, information regarding that is posted below. If the alternative means for finding information are not sufficient, please contact your faculty liaison to see if they can be of assistance in running a PACER search on your behalf. And, if the project is too complex for a librarian-managed search, the librarian liaison can assist the faculty member in setting up their own PACER account with the faculty member’s faculty research account funds.
A docket shows you all of the court materials involved in the case. It is basically a schedule of a case's proceedings used by courts to track all events, hearings, filings, and decisions in a case. In most dockets you will find:
Example of a docket: This is the first page of the docket from Hastings Christian Fellowship v. Martinez:
Various websites and databases provide access to court dockets. Usually you will need the case name or the docket number to locate your case.
It might be difficult to search by docket number because docket numbers are not in a standard format, for example they may or may not include a number for the year and they may contain a mix of numbers, letters and symbols such as parentheses, slashes and dashes.
Below is a list of good websites and databases for locating dockets. For complex research, the subscription databases offer more intuitive interfaces and better tools for crafting specific searches for dockets and documents. These databases also offer access to the court filings on the Dockets.
is a pay as you go government database that provides access to Dockets and Documents.
Sometimes a general Google search will work to locate dockets in more popular cases. Type in the case name and docket number.
There are a few free online sources for court briefs but none of them are comprehensive.
A Union List of Appellate Court Records and Briefs
by
Some Federal appellate court web sites provide access to selected oral arguments (audio files).
There are many courts around UC Law SF, where students can go and visit court proceedings. If you want court times or calendar dates click on the following links below:
