Legal Research Corner
| Publication year | 2023 |
| Pages | 14 |
LEGAL RESEARCH CORNER
Docket research is the start of many legal workflows. Litigation strategy, calendaring, expert witness research, judicial research, and business development are all familiar legal tasks, but much of the related work starts with information in dockets. Dockets, also referred to as a register of actions or case summary, contain pertinent case information, such as case number, judge, parties, and events of the case. Given the importance of dockets within legal research, it's no wonder that docket research has become an increasingly important task.
Federal docket research is generally more straightforward than state docket research. While federal dockets are electronically available via PACER,[1] there's no such unified e-filing system for dockets at the state level. Instead, it's left to individual states, and sometimes even counties, to determine the availability of electronic access to their court records. To further complicate matters, some state court databases combine e-filing systems with their docketing databases, while others keep them separate. Moreover, some courts are still in the process of transitioning to online platforms, both for e-filing and docketing systems, so some records are not yet available online.
This article examines the current state of affairs regarding online access to state dockets. It begins with a brief overview of Colorado's e-filing and docketing systems, and then addresses some of the challenges faced by other jurisdictions and what's being done to overcome them. Finally, it looks at what's new and what might lie ahead in the realm of state docket research.
Colorado's E-filing and Docketing Systems
Technology has proven to be efficient and economical for court systems.[2] Colorado was an early pioneer of online access when the Colorado Judicial Branch launched its first e-filing platform in 1999, making it one of the first states to make such a technological leap.[3]An L.A. Times article about the new e-filing platform boldly asserted that lawyers would be able to push a button on their computer terminals to process court filings from their offices.[4]
While design and maintenance of the e-filing platform was originally outsourced, the Colorado Judiciary brought the platform and public access to it in-house in 2008 by using a self-funded approach.[5] Judicial approval in 2010 meant that the new e-filing platform, Integrated Colorado Courts E-filing System (ICCES), was developed and launched in 2011.6 The name ICCES was eventually changed to Colorado Courts E-filing (CCE), effective November 1, 2016, and Colorado still uses the platform.[7]
Methods for accessing e-filing and state-level docketing systems are as unique as the states themselves.
Differing system platforms, docket entry specifications, and levels of public access can affect a researcher's ability to access electronic court records.
CCE allows eligible users (attorneys, government agencies, parties to a case, etc.) electronic access to pleadings with an e-filing account. While there's no fee to create an account, viewing the contents of a case, including the docket, comes with an upfront cost of $15.[8]Users should note that search functionality in CCE is limited, and, similar to PACER, they are paying to access documents that may or may not exist. Those who are ineligible to access CCE can purchase copies of court records using the judicial branch's online Record/Document Request Form,[9] or by contacting the appropriate clerk of the court directly.
Unlike CCE, the Colorado Docket Search tool[10] on the Colorado Judicial Branch website does not require an account. The tool offers access to online case information from Colorado district and county courts, but full-text access to pleadings is not available. Users can search court records based on the county where the case was filed and then narrow the search by supplying more case information, such as the case number, a party's first or last name, or attorney bar number.
Different State, Different Solution
Methods for accessing e-filing and state-level docketing systems are as unique as the states themselves. Differing system platforms, docket entry specifications, and levels of public access can affect a researcher's ability to access electronic court records. State trial court access and information still varies wildly for several reasons, including funding issues and the responsibility to protect citizens' personal information.
Funding constraints pose a problem for local courts when trying to create electronic access to court records. Local municipalities and governments are already working within a tight budget, so the high overhead cost of implementing electronic...
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