Advanced Evidence: Researching Dockets and Briefs

Locating Court Dockets on Bloomberg Law

Court filing such as complaints, briefs, and motions are available on Bloomberg Law.  Bloomberg Law provides filing via the PACER system with content coverage including federal materials and limited state materials.  Coverage of court dockets is available here: https://www.bloomberglaw.com/dockets/coverage 

Log in to Bloomberg Law: https://www.bloomberglaw.com/.  Select "Docket Search" from the Litigation tools menu.

Select the court, enter your case's docket number (typically found under the case caption), and click "Search".  You may also enter party names or other identifying information related to the case.  The example below uses the document number and court information from Atkins v. O'Brien, a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia (2:14-CV-36).

Select "Update Docket" to ensure you see the latest filings. n the docket. Select "View" or "Request" to view the full text of each court filing (e.g. a pleading, motion or brief).  Note that some filings remain unavailable even upon selecting "Request".