A docket for a case usually notes all of the proceedings filed by any party or by the court in a case. The list of all of the proceedings is referred to as a docket sheet. These proceedings may include, for example, the filing of a complaint or motion or an order by the judge. Documents are often associated with these proceedings, but sometimes documents may not be available online, either for privacy reasons or because they simply haave not been made available online by the court.
Docket number
Once the case is filed, the court assigns the proceeding a number, called a docket number. While exact docket number practices may vary from court to court, the docket number usually contains some identifying information about the court, the year the case was filed, and whether the case is civil or criminal. For example, Docket No. 1:20-cr-00613 shows that the case originally began in 2020 (the number 20), is a criminal law case (the "cr" indicates criminal, while "cv" indicates civil"), and it was the 613th case filed in that court for that year. Sometimes, there will be initials following the numbers, which usually indicate the judge the case was assigned to.
Federal Dockets: PACER/Bloomberg Law
Most federal courts add their dockets to what is called PACER ("Public Access to Court Electronic Records"). Bloomberg Law pulls all of the dockets from PACER, and makes them easier to find and search. As a law student, you have access to Bloomberg Law, so there is no reason for you to use PACER as a law student. If you need help setting up a Bloomberg Law account, email lawref@colorado.edu. To see more information on using Bloomberg Law dockets, watch the video below.
State Dockets:
There is no single platform similar to Bloomberg Law for state dockets. However, there are many state dockets available on Trellis. Trellis covers 45 state trial court dockets.