Court documents are such an essential part of the work we do, but they can often be a little tricky to track down. While there are different databases that can aggregate information, many states and counties operate in ways that work best for them. For researchers, this leads to mixed results when trying to locate information.
A first step for me, as a law librarian, is the litigation resources within Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg. These tools (Westlaw dockets,1 CourtLink,2 and Bloomberg Dockets3) aggregate the data that is available online and compile the information in one place for users. It is a great starting point to see what immediately turns up. It can also be helpful if it is unclear where a business was located, and/or if information is needed about which additional courts need to be reviewed.
Other court docket aggregators, such as Trellis4 and Case Portal5 (formerly known as Courthouse News Service), are available and can be utilized for reviewing court cases. These tools allow for reviewing dockets and documents and tracking potential new cases that may be filed. These types of resources can be beneficial for business development, allowing for increased awareness of newly filed cases.
In Michigan, we are fortunate to have MiCOURT Case Search.6 While it does still require researchers to review content by court, it is an incredible resource. It enables locating those smaller court cases that can often be missed. If a county of residence for an individual, or place of operation for a business entity is known, the MiCourt database can be a game changer. The system does have limitations. As noted, it does not allow system wide searching, only by individual court. Bulk downloading of data from the site is not possible, and there are limits within different courts about what is available.
When it comes to locating a Michigan appellate document or case, many of the items are available in one place. The Michigan Courts website has links to the most recent Court of Appeals opinions, Supreme Court opinions and orders, and dockets showing the case history for each case.7 Moreover, it has a process for ordering other documents from the case history that it doesn’t automatically provide online.8
The individual courts of Michigan operate under individual policies and procedures. Some have robust online systems that allow documents to be ordered online via that portal and deliver the documents directly via email. Other courts have thorough websites with case histories and directions on how to order court records. Some still require in-person ordering for the best results. Each court operates in the way that works best for it. If the court is new to a researcher, it can take a lot of learning to figure out the best way of accessing the records needed while also following that individual court’s guidelines.
For federal courts, many of the legal research platforms—Bloomberg, Lexis, and Westlaw—may provide access to federal court documents, depending on a firm’s subscription level. Also at hand is PACER: Public Access to Court Electronic Records.9 PACER allows for cost-effective access to documents and is open to the public. Anyone can have a PACER account to access documents and run searches, so long as they can pay for the materials.
The costs for access are, however, important to note. PACER charges nominal fees for accessing records, including charges for name searches, a $2.40 charge per audio file, and a $0.10 per page access fee. They do waive costs under $30.00 per quarter on accounts and also limit individual document fees to $3.00 per document.10
State courts have different guidelines. Some charge a $10.00 fee per search for a person’s name or for a business. Others are happy to search for users or simply confirm an online search and then charge a $0.50 per-page copy fee for documents. Each court has its own policies and fees.
In the age of AI that we live in, I encourage double-checking everything. Interrogate the resources used in the search. Additionally, there are many scam sites popping up that mimic legitimate court websites. Lastly, while information is available online, if it doesn’t seem correct, reach out to the court to confirm the case. Another note is that tracking down any sort of court record can be tricky if key bits of information, like a date of birth, are unknown. Names can be very common, and online results may require further digging to be certain that this is the correct case, entity, or individual.
An important note: a very wise law librarian colleague recently reminded a group of law librarians that these Westlaw, Lexis, TLO, etc. reports are all just aggregators. They can be super beneficial when trying to conduct speedy research, but are by no means your final stop. If, after talking to your client or reviewing discovery documents, you feel like something is missing from these aggregated reports, odds are that it is. That’s where running own litigation search or asking for help from your friendly neighborhood law librarian can come in handy.