Free Court Case Docket Monitoring
April 5, 2005
While most attorneys are aware that many courts around the country have been
offering inexpensive and free access to case dockets on the Internet for years,
many are not aware that dockets can be automatically monitored for free as well.
Attorneys and other researchers tend to get set in their ways, relying upon
vendors to inform them which court jurisdictions are available for automatic
monitoring, and which aren’t. In addition to being too busy or thinking they lack
the technical ability, many people just don’t know which courts are offering
docket sheets, and the methods used to monitor them.
Federal District and Bankruptcy Courts
Currently there are about 150 US district and bankruptcy courts that are utilizing
the CM/ECF system. In addition to the obvious benefits of docketing and
electronic filing, another valuable feature of CM/ECF is electronic noticing. This
is an automated process whereby the text of new case docket entries and links
to the associated documents are distributed via email. In order to participate in
this electronic noticing in most courts, you must first obtain an electronic case
filing account. The specific requirements for obtaining an ECF account vary
from court to court, but you must be admitted to practice in a court before your ID
and password will be issued. Some courts allow an attorney to sign up online
and will activate their account within hours, while others require mailing a
hardcopy of the ECF application, and may even require training. It’s free to
create an ECF account, and e-filing is quickly becoming mandatory in the
federal courts, so it’s a good idea to sign up. After your account is set up, you’ll
receive timely notices of new docket entries free of charge, as well as one free
look at documents for cases in which you have appeared.
Although there are different court policies and software releases of CM/ECF
being used, the following method should work for monitoring cases you’re not
1) Log in to the appropriate ECF court site and click “Utilities” on the upper right
side of the blue bar that runs across the top of the screen.
2) Under “Your Account”, click “Maintain Your Account”***
3) Scroll down and click the button labeled “Email information.”
4) Check the box labeled “Send notices in these additional cases,” and enter the
case numbers for the cases you would like to monitor.
5) Click the button labeled “Return to Account screen.”
6) Scroll down and click the button labeled “Submit.”
7) You will need to click a “submit” button again, and then see a summary of the
options you have selected for your account.
***If you don’t see the “Your Account” link, this means the court you’re practicing
in does not allow you to alter your account options online, and you must call them
to make any changes needed. Also, some courts will allow you to participate in
electronic noticing without having an e-filing account.
To use a step-by-step computer training module for electronic noticing, click
"Setting Up Automatic E-mail", on the PACER Service Center’s CM/ECF site:
US Supreme, State, and Local Courts
The US Supreme Court and many state and local courts post free docket sheets
online using various systems built in-house or created by legal software
companies. The method for setting up a system to monitor these court cases is
very simple. Below are the steps needed to set up a US Supreme Court docket
to be monitored as an example.
Input your case number or party name and click the search button. Then select
the link to your case, which will display the docket in your browser. Notice how
the docket is displayed with its own uniqueURL address. Using your mouse,
highlight and copy this URL. You’ll paste this later to set up your monitoring.
Also, now is a good time to create a direct link to the docket in your favorites,
bookmarks, or on your Intranet, if you wish.
Follow the directions to create an account, and then paste your docket’s URL
into the proper location for monitoring. That’s it! You have just created a free
automated mechanism for monitoring a US Supreme Court case docket.
To be sure you’re alerted promptly with updates, customize the frequency for the
docket to be checked every few hours, seven days a week. When a docket
entry or other change is made, the email address you designate will receive
notice with a link to the docket. You’ll also receive an email alert if the court site
Although I have only used this monitoring method for the US Supreme Court,
monitoring other courts’ case docket sheets in this manner should work just as
easily. As long as the page where your docket sheet is located can be
monitored, you can conduct free, timely automated case monitoring. You’ll need
to experiment, and should not rely solely on this case docket monitoring since
each court’s public access policies, docketing procedures, and technologies
The following is a brief list of just some of the courts that offer free dockets online
and can probably be monitored using this method:
Arizona: Maricopa and Pima County Superior Courts.
California: Butte, Contra Costa, Glenn, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, and Ventura
Connecticut: Superior Court civil cases.
Florida: Supreme Court and various Circuit Courts.
Georgia: Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Illinois: Circuit Courts in many counties.
Kansas: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Shawnee County District Court.
Massachusetts: Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Michigan: Grand Traverse and Macomb County Circuit Courts.
Mississippi: Supreme Court.
North Carolina: Supreme Court.
North Dakota: Supreme Court.
Ohio: Common Pleas and Municipal Courts in many counties.
Oklahoma: Appellate and District Courts.
Texas: District and County Courts in Brazoria, Comal, Denton, El Paso, Grayson, Gregg,
Lamar, Rockwall, Tom Green, Williamson, and other counties.
Washington: Pierce County Superior Court.
Wisconsin: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Circuit Courts.
As federal, state, and local courts continue to improve their technology regarding online case information, it’s more important than ever to know where to look and how to effectively monitor case dockets. There are always exceptions to rules and procedures, but the two methods of docket monitoring I have described should significantly help to increase the value, timeliness, and efficiency of your case monitoring efforts.
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