Community Justice Project: Docket Research

Courts assign each case case a docket number to make it easier to track. Usually, it's not necessary to understand how docket numbers are assigned to use them to retrieve cases. However, understanding how docket numbers are constructed can be helpful for correcting mistyped docket numbers and determining where and when a case was filed.

Each court generally has its own system for assigning docket numbers, which may include some or all of the following:

• The year the case was filed, in two or four digit format.
• The court the case was filed in, represented by a letter or number.
• The type of case (e.g. civil, criminal, bankruptcy).
• A sequence number, randomly assigned to each case as it is filed. 

To learn how a specific court assigns docket numbers, check:

• The court's website
• Westlaw's source information for the court, which generally explains how the court assigns docket numbers. To view this information, navigate to the court's page in Westlaw's Dockets section and then click the i symbol beneath the court's name.

In the Minnesota District Courts, docket numbers are formatted as follows:

CC-TT-YY-NNNNNN (e.g. 27-CV-08-13677), where:

CC = County Designation

TT = Case Type

YY = two-digit year

NNNNNN = Sequence Number

In the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Minnesota Court of Appeals, docket numbers are formatted as follows:

AYYNNNN (e.g. A070003), where:

A = Appellate

YY = Year

NNNN = Sequence Number

Each circuit and district assigns docket numbers independently but uses the same basic format. As a result, the same docket number may be assigned to different cases in different courts. For example:

• The docket number 14-1234 might refer to a 2014 appellate case filed in any of the circuits or the Supreme Court.
• The docket number 2:14-cv-123456 may refer to a case filed in Los Angeles (court 2 in the Central District of California), Memphis (court 2 in the Western District of Tennessee), Phoenix (court 2 in the District of Arizona), or any other court assigned the number 2 within its district.

The docket number above tells us that this case was filed in 2014, with the sequence number 12345. It might be from the Supreme Court or from any Court of Appeals- based on the docket number alone there is no way to tell.

The docket number above tells us that the case is from a district court that has been assigned the number 2 within its district, was filed in 2014, and is an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court, with the sequence number 123456. It might be from a court in any district- based on the docket number alone there is no way to tell. 

Common case types include:

• cv for civil
• cr for criminal
• br for bankruptcy

When searching for a docket, skip any letters or numbers after the sequence number. These are not officially part of the docket number but simply local notes, typically the judge's initials and sometimes information about the type of case. For example:

• VZ for Judge Vincent Zurzolo
• ABC-RZ for Judge Audrey B. Collins and Magistrate Judge Ralph Zarefsky
• UA-DUTY for unassigned judge and on duty magistrate
• TOM13 for Judge Tamara O. Mitchell and Chapter 13 bankruptcy

For details on court numbers, case type abbreviations, and local notes, check the court's website, such as the California Central District's district court website (scroll down to Case Naming Conventions) and the bankruptcy court website.

The federal courts require plaintiffs to check a box indicating Nature of Suit, such as 110 Insurance contract or 550 Prisoner civil rights petition. PACER's user manual provides a complete list of Nature of Suit codes. 

NoS codes can help you search for cases by type but keep in mind:

• Plaintiffs can only check one code- so you might miss relevant cases that deal with multiple issues.
• Some NoS codes are vague, such as 190 Other Contract, 440 Other Civil Rights.

As a result, it's usually best to experiment with both keyword and NoS searches.

Most state courts do not have classification systems as detailed as Nature of Suit, but they typically provide some general description of case type (e.g. criminal misdemeanor, civil family support, unlawful detainer, criminal traffic, state bar resignation).

Additionally, Westlaw has developed an unofficial system called Key Nature of Suit in which it assigns NoS type codes to state cases.  Westlaw's help page provide a complete list of Key Nature of Suit codes.

If you do not have a citation to a case, you can search dockets and court documents directly using Dockets Search.

1. Login to Bloomberg Law.
2. Type Dockets Search in the main search bar and click the dropdown link.

The Dockets Search form allows you to search by keyword, court, party, judge, docket number, and date. Under More Options, you can also search by attorney/firm, case number, and case status. Keep in mind:

• When filtering by court, click the i symbol next to a court's name to see the dates of coverage for the court. Often, if you can't find a docket, it's because Bloomberg has only limited coverage for that court.
• When searching an individual party, judge, or attorney's name, place /3 between their first and last name to retrieve cases that use their middle name. You may also want to place quotes around law firm or company names to search for only that exact name.

The form ends with options customized to specific courts. For example:

• The U.S. District & Appellate Options section allows you to search by Cause of Action (i.e. Nature of Suit code)
• The U.S. Bankruptcy Courts Options section allows you to search by type of bankruptcy (e.g. Chapter 9, Chapter 11)

Once you have accessed a docket on Bloomberg through Related Docket(s) or Dockets Search, you can view or request some or all of the court documents listed on the docket.

Click "Request" next to any document to ask Bloomberg to retrieve it.  

• If the document is available on the federal PACER system, Bloomberg will automatically retrieve it, usually within minutes.
• If the document is available on a state e-filing system, Bloomberg help desk staff will sometimes retrieve it manually, usually within an hour. However, state e-filing systems are generally more expensive than PACER, so help desk staff may reject your request if it will cost Bloomberg too much money or if you have made too many previous requests.
• As you will be using a law school account, Bloomberg will never pass the fees on to you- its staff will either pay the fees or reject your request. Any fees assessed will run against your individual docket limit, and a Librarian will reach out to you if there is a problem.

Click "View" next to any document to view it instantly. Bloomberg allows you to instantly view any document that any user has previously requested, whether they requested it through PACER, a state e-filing system, or by paying Bloomberg's couriers to visit the court in person and retrieve it manually. 

• Each docket has a "Docket Currency" sidebar, where Bloomberg indicates the date the docket was last updated on Bloomberg.
• To update the docket, click "Update Docket" in the Docket Currency sidebar or at the top of the screen.
• If you are using a law school account, Bloomberg will pay to update the docket and that fee will be assessed against your individual limit. To help reduce costs, the "Docket Currency" sidebar also lists "New Entries Since Last Update", so you can decide whether it's worth paying to update the docket.