CourtListener's search engine is powered by the Citegeist™ relevance engine, which supports highly advanced Boolean operators. These allow you to build a complex search that can be run across our entire corpus: from Case Law and the RECAP Archive, to Financial Disclosures and fully searchable Oral Arguments transcripts.
If you would like assistance crafting a query, let us know. We can sometimes help.
AND or &This connector is used by default, and so is not usually needed. However, some operators, like the negation operator, can change the default operator to OR. Therefore, in more complicated queries it is good practice to explicitly intersect your tokens by using the AND or & operator between all words e.g:
(immigration AND asylum) AND (border OR patrol) or
(immigration & asylum) & (border OR patrol)
ORCreates an OR comparison between words (e.g. immigration OR asylum).
-Requires that a word or phrase be excluded from the returned results. For example, this finds documents containing "immigration" but not "border patrol":
immigration -"border patrol"
This operator makes other tokens in your query fuzzy. Therefore, to do a boolean search, use the intersection operator (AND) between all your other tokens. For example, this searches for items containing both "immigration" and "border," but not "border patrol":
immigration AND border AND -"border patrol"
This query does "immigration" or "border" but not "border patrol":
immigration border -"border patrol".
NOT or %The NOT operator or % serves as an alternative way to exclude terms from your search results. This operator is particularly useful when combined with other boolean operators or grouped queries to refine your search precision:
"border patrol" NOT (immigration OR asylum) or
"border patrol" % (immigration OR asylum)
" "Creates a phrase search (e.g. "border patrol").
You can also use " " to perform an exact query, which will not apply stemming or match synonyms.
For instance: "Inform" people will return results containing only inform and people, thus avoiding results that include information. Conversely, "Information" people, will exclude results containing inform.
It's important to notice that a phrase query behaves as an exact query for each term within the phrase. Therefore, avoid nesting quotes, such as ""Inform" people" as all the quotes will be ignored.
In the case that quotation marks are not balanced (i.e. there is an odd number of them), they will be ignored.
( )Using parentheses will group parts of a query (e.g. (customs OR "border patrol") AND asylum). Parentheses can be nested as deeply as needed.
*, !, ? and ~Using an asterisk (*) allows for wildcard searches. For example, immigra* finds all words that begin with "immigra". Alternatively, you can use an exclamation mark (!) at the beginning of a word for the same purpose. For instance, !immigra matches words that start with "immigra".
* can also be used inside words, where it acts as a single-character wildcard. For example, a query like gr*mm*r would match cases containing both "grammar" and "grimmer".
The question mark character (?) can be used similarly as a single-character wildcard. Unlike *, it is allowed at the beginning of words. For example, this would find cases containing the word "immigrant" or "emmigration": ?mmigra*.
Fuzzy search can be applied using the tilde character (~) after a word. This is an advanced parameter that allows searches for misspellings or variations in a word's spelling. For example, searching for immigrant~ would find words similar to "immigrant." Values can also be added after the tilde to specify the maximum number of changes allowed, where a change refers to the insertion, deletion, substitution of a single character, or transposition of two adjacent characters. The default value, if none is given, is 2. Allowed values are 1 and 2. Fuzzy searches tend to broaden the result set, thus lowering precision, but also casting a wider net.
The following types of wildcard queries are disabled due to performance issues:
* at the beginning of terms
Queries like *ing are disallowed because they require examining all terms in the index, which is highly resource-intensive.
* or ! in short terms
Queries that match multiple endings are only allowed if the base word has at least three characters. Therefore, queries like a*, bc*, !a, or !bc are disallowed due to performance issues.
Performing a query like these will throw an error with the message:
The query contains a disallowed wildcard pattern.
~Using a tilde character (~) after a phrase will ensure that the words in the phrase are within a desired distance of each other. For example "border fence"~50 would find the words border and fence within 50 words of each other.
[ ]Ranges can be queried by using brackets. For example, a search for [1939 TO 1945] would find all cases that contained the numbers 1939 to 1945, inclusive. Range queries can also be fielded, allowing searches like citation:([22 TO 23] F2), which would find all cases from volumes 22 and 23 of the second series of the Federal Reporter. In range queries, an asterisk can be used to indicate no upper or lower limit, for example page_count:[200 TO *] would find all items with more than 200 pages. The word 'TO' must be uppercase.
Date queries require the ISO-8601 standard date formatting. This means that dates must be formatted as follows:
YYYY-MM-DD
In English that's year-month-day. For example, here's a date range that finds all docket filings from October 2018:
dateFiled:[2018-10-01 TO 2018-10-31]
fieldname:termIn addition to being able to place fielded searches in the side bar, advanced users can also place fielded searches in their main query. For example, a search for court_id:ca1 status:precedential would return only precedential cases (status:precedential)in the First Circuit of Federal Appeals (court_id:ca1).
Parentheses can be used to create more complex queries. Or multi-terms queries.
For example: casename:(wade OR roe) would find cases containing "wade" or "roe" in the name of the case.
casename:(Roe v. Wade) would find cases containing all the terms provided, equivalent to "Roe" AND "v." AND "Wade".
Different search interfaces support different fields according to the following two tables:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
id |
The ID of the item in the CourtListener system. |
docket_id |
The ID of the docket that the item is associated with. |
scdb_id |
The ID of an opinion in the Supreme Court Database. |
cluster_id |
A single case can have dissents, concurrences and other types of opinions. We call these 'clusters'. This is the ID of the cluster that an opinion is part of. See also: sibling_ids |
sibling_ids |
The ID of other opinions within a cluster. |
court_id |
This is the abbreviated court ID associated with the item. See the jurisdictions page for a current list of abbreviations. For judge search, see the court field for an alternate approach. |
attorney |
The attorneys that argued the case. |
author_id |
The ID of the judge that authored an opinion. |
panel_ids |
The IDs of the judges on a panel for a case. |
panel_names |
The full name of the judges on a panel for a case. |
joined_by_ids |
The IDs of the judges joining an author in an opinion. |
judge |
A full-text searchable field containing the judge name, if known. This can be useful for judges that do not yet have an ID in our database. |
per_curiam |
Whether an opinion was written per curiam. |
dateFiled |
The date the decision was issued by the court. |
dateArgued |
The date that a case was first argued. |
dateReargued |
The date that a case was reargued. |
dateReargumentDenied |
The date a that a motion for reargument was denied. |
caseName |
The name of the case. |
docketNumber |
The docket number for a case. |
citation |
An all-encompassing field containing all of the citations for an opinion. |
neutralCite |
The neutral citation for an opinion, if known. |
lexisCite |
The citation for a case within LexisNexis's database. |
suitNature |
The nature of suit for a case. |
citeCount |
The number of times an opinion has been cited. This field can accept range queries. |
status |
The precedential status of a case. Valid entries for this field are published, unpublished, errata, separate, in-chambers, relating-to, unknown |
cites |
All of the item IDs that cite an opinion. |
type |
The Opinion type. Valid entries for this field are combined-opinion, unanimous-opinion, lead-opinion, plurality-opinion, concurrence-opinion, in-part-opinion, dissent, addendum, remittitur, rehearing, on-the-merits, on-motion-to-strike. |
procedural_history |
The history of the case as it jumped from court to court. |
posture |
The procedural posture of the case. |
syllabus |
A summary of the issues presented in the case and the "outcome." |
non_participating_judge_ids |
The judges that heard the case, but did not participate in the opinion |
source |
The source of the cluster. Valid entries for this field are: C for "court website", R for "public.resource.org", CR for "court website merged with resource.org", L for "lawbox", LC for "lawbox merged with court", LR for "lawbox merged with resource.org", LCR for "lawbox merged with court and resource.org", M for "manual input", A for "internet archive", H for "brad heath archive", Z for "columbia archive", U for "Harvard, Library Innovation Lab Case Law Access Project", CU for "court website merged with Harvard", D for "direct court input", Q for "2020 anonymous database", QU for "2020 anonymous database merged with Harvard", CRU for "court website merged with public.resource.org and Harvard", DU for "direct court input merged with Harvard", LU for "lawbox merged with Harvard", LCU for "Lawbox merged with court website and Harvard", LRU for "Lawbox merged with public.resource.org and with Harvard", LCRU for "Lawbox merged with court website", CRU for "public.resource.org and Harvard", MU for "Manual input merged with Harvard", RU for "public.resource.org merged with Harvard", ZA for "columbia merged with internet archive", ZD for "columbia merged with direct court input", ZC for "columbia merged with court", ZH for "columbia merged with brad heath archive", ZLC for "columbia merged with lawbox and court", ZLR for "columbia merged with lawbox and resource.org", ZLCR for "columbia merged with lawbox, court, and resource.org", ZR for "columbia merged with resource.org", ZCR for "columbia merged with court and resource.org", ZL for "columbia merged with lawbox", ZM for "columbia merged with manual input", ZQ for "columbia merged with 2020 anonymous database", ZU for "columbia archive merged with Harvard", ZLU for "columbia archive merged with Lawbox and Harvard", ZDU for "columbia archive merged with direct court input and Harvard", ZLRU for "columbia archive merged with lawbox, public.resource.org and Harvard", ZLCRU for "columbia archive merged with lawbox, court website, public.resource.org and Harvard", ZCU for "columbia archive merged with court website and Harvard", ZMU for "columbia archive merged with manual input and Harvard", ZRU for "columbia archive merged with public.resource.org and Harvard", ZLCU for "columbia archive merged with lawbox, court website and Harvard" |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
docket_id |
The ID of the docket that the item is associated with. |
cluster_id |
A single case can have dissents, concurrences and other types of opinions. We call these 'clusters'. This is the ID of the cluster that an opinion is part of. See also: sibling_ids |
court_id |
This is the abbreviated court ID associated with the item. See the jurisdictions page for a current list of abbreviations. For judge search, see the court field for an alternate approach. |
author_id |
The ID of the judge that authored an opinion. |
panel_ids |
The IDs of the judges on a panel for a case. |
panel_names |
The full name of the judges on a panel for a case. |
judge |
A full-text searchable field containing the judge name, if known. This can be useful for judges that do not yet have an ID in our database. |
dateFiled |
The date the decision was issued by the court. |
caseName |
The name of the case. |
docketNumber |
The docket number for a case. |
citation |
An all-encompassing field containing all of the citations for an opinion. |
neutralCite |
The neutral citation for an opinion, if known. |
lexisCite |
The citation for a case within LexisNexis's database. |
suitNature |
The nature of suit for a case. |
citeCount |
The number of times an opinion has been cited. This field can accept range queries. |
status |
The precedential status of a case. Valid entries for this field are published, unpublished, errata, separate, in-chambers, relating-to, unknown |
cites |
All of the item IDs that cite an opinion. |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
id |
The ID of the item in the CourtListener system. |
docket_id |
The ID of the docket that the item is associated with. |
docket_entry_id |
The ID of the docket entry that the item is associated with. |
court_id |
This is the abbreviated court ID associated with the item. See the jurisdictions page for a current list of abbreviations. For judge search, see the court field for an alternate approach. |
party |
The name of the parties in a PACER case. Can have multiple values.* |
attorney |
The name of the attorneys in a PACER case. Can have multiple values.* |
firm_id |
The ID of a firm in a PACER case. Can have multiple values. |
firm |
The name of a firm in a PACER case. Can have multiple values. |
assigned_to_id |
The IDs of the judges joining an author in an opinion. |
referred_to_id |
The ID of the judge a case is referred to. See also: referredTo |
assignedTo |
A full-text searchable field containing the judge name a case was assigned to. This can be useful for judges that do not yet have an ID in our database. See also: assigned_to_id |
referredTo |
A full-text searchable field containing the judge name a case was referred to. This can be useful for judges that do not yet have an ID in our database. See also: referred_to_id |
dateFiled |
The date the case was initiated. |
entry_date_filed |
The date of a document entry in the PACER docket. |
dateArgued |
The date that a case was first argued. |
dateTerminated |
The date that a case was terminated in PACER. |
caseName |
The name of the case. |
docketNumber |
The docket number for a case. |
suitNature |
The nature of suit for a case. |
document_type |
Whether an item in the RECAP Archive is a document or an attachment. Allowed values are PACER Document or Attachment |
document_number |
The document number of the item on the PACER docket. |
attachment_number |
The attachment number of the item on the PACER docket. |
is_available |
Whether a document is in the RECAP Archive. |
page_count |
The number of pages in a PACER document. See "Range Queries" for more information on getting documents above or below a certain length. |
description |
The description of a PACER document from the docket entry. |
short_description |
The short description of a PACER document from the download document page. |
cause |
The cause of action for a case in PACER. |
juryDemand |
The jury demand for a case in PACER. |
jurisdictionType |
The "jurisdiction" value found in PACER docket reports. For example, 'Diversity' or 'U.S. Government Defendant'. |
chapter |
In bankruptcy dockets, the chapter the bankruptcy is currently filed under. |
trustee_str |
In bankruptcy dockets, the name of the trustee handling the case. |
entry_number |
The entry number on the PACER docket page. For appellate cases, this may be the internal PACER ID for the document, when an entry ID is otherwise unavailable. |
pacer_doc_id |
The internal ID of the document in PACER. |
plain_text |
The plain text of the document after extraction. |
* party and attorney values are associated with dockets, not filings. Therefore, avoid combining non-docket fields with party and attorney in the main query box, as such combinations won't yield any results. For example, a query like:
party:(Party Name) AND attorney:(Attorney) AND description:(some description)Will not return any results. To achieve the desired results, utilize filters available in the sidebar:
Document Description: "some description"Party Name: "The party name"Attorney Name: "The attorney name"This approach will retrieve filings that match the specified document description in dockets with the specified parties and attorneys.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
id |
The ID of the item in the CourtListener system. |
docket_id |
The ID of the docket that the item is associated with. |
court_id |
This is the abbreviated court ID associated with the item. See the jurisdictions page for a current list of abbreviations. For judge search, see the court field for an alternate approach. |
panel_ids |
The IDs of the judges on a panel for a case. |
judge |
A full-text searchable field containing the judge name, if known. This can be useful for judges that do not yet have an ID in our database. |
dateArgued |
The date that a case was first argued. |
dateReargued |
The date that a case was reargued. |
dateReargumentDenied |
The date a that a motion for reargument was denied. |
caseName |
The name of the case. |
docketNumber |
The docket number for a case. |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
id |
The ID of the judge in the CourtListener system. |
fjc_id |
The ID of a judge in the Federal Judicial Center's database of judges. |
name |
A judge's full name. |
races |
The races that are known for a judge. |
gender |
The gender that a judge is known to identify with, for now only Female, Male, or Other. |
religion |
A judge's religion, if known. |
dod and dob |
The date of death and date of birth for a judge. |
dob_city, dob_state, and dob_state_id
|
The birth city, state, and state abbreviation for a judge. |
court |
The courts where a judge has held positions. |
position_type |
The titles that a judge has held, such as "Special Chariman", "Chief Judge", "Acting Judge", etc. |
appointer, supervisor, predecessor
|
The full name of the appointer, supervisor, and predecessor of a judge while in a position. |
date_nominated |
The date a judge was nominated to a position. |
date_elected |
If an elected judge, this is the date the judge was elected to their position. |
date_recess_appointment |
If a judge was appointed while congress was in recess, this is the date of that appointment. |
date_referred_to_judicial_committee |
The date that a federal judge nomination was referred to the judicial committee. |
date_judicial_committee_action |
The date that the judicial committee took action on a judicial nomination. |
date_hearing |
The date of a judicial hearing for a federal judge. |
date_confirmation |
The date a federal judge is confirmed by the Senate. |
date_start |
The date that a judge starts a position. |
date_retirement |
The date a judge retires from a position. |
date_termination |
The date a judge ends active duty in a position. The compliment
to date_start |
termination_reason |
The reason a judge was terminated from a position. |
judicial_committee_action |
The action taken by the Judicial Committee in response to a nomination. Possible values: "Not Reported", "Reported with Recommendation", "Reported without Recommendation", "Recommendation Postponed", or "Recommended Unfavorably". |
nomination_process |
The process by which a person was nominated into this a position. Possible values: "U.S. Senate", "State Senate", "Primary Election", or "Merit Commission". |
selection_method |
How the judge was selected for a position. Possible values: "Partisan Election", "Non-Partisan Election", "Appointment (President)", "Appointment (Governor)", or "Appointment (Legislature)". |
school |
The name of the school attended by a judge. |
political_affiliation |
The political affiliation of a juge. |
aba_rating |
The American Bar Association rating of a judge. |
related:<id>
Find opinions whose content is most related to the content of the given opinion.
Replace <id> with the ID of the opinion for which you want to retrieve related opinions.
The opinion ID can be found in the URL of the corresponding opinion: courtlistener.com/opinion/<id>/...
Alternatively, you can navigate to the targeted opinion and click on View Full List in the Related Opinions section.