Dockets, Briefs & Oral Argument: State Court Dockets

The LA Law Library (a county law library supported in part by civil filing fees in the LA County courts) maintains one of the most comprehensive collections of California Courts of Appeal briefs, dating back to California's admission to the Union and including selected digitized briefs from 1999 to the present. The collection continues to be digitized for online access, and the library will take requests for emailed/digitized briefs (provide the appellate case's docket number).

Many courts offer free access to electronic case information onsite at the courthouse (though there may be copy/download fees or limitations). For example:

• Alameda County Superior Court "How to Access Case Information" (General Information > Records)
• Contra Costa Superior Court "Court Records (Non-Criminal Cases)" (Home > Court Locations)
• San Francisco County Superior Court "Records" (Home > General Information)
• in general, see the California court system's information on Access to Electronic Court Case Records "https://www.courts.ca.gov/42512.htm"

Try to find any case-specific information (such as docket number, party name(s), filing dates, etc.) and contact the court's records department, clerk's office, or self-help center before visiting the court.

State court services for online access to docket sheets and underlying documents varies greatly from state to state and court to court.

California

Trial court dockets

Go to the individual county superior court's website (use the California court system's Find My Court page). In general, if the court makes docket sheets or the underlying documents available online, there will be a link under the "Online Services" tab on the home page—look for "Case Information," "Online Case Search" or similar wording. Practice varies widely, but some local examples include:

• Superior Court, Alameda County - eCourt Public Portal (note fees for some Search functions)
• Superior Court, Contra Costa County - My Court Case
• Superior Court, San Francisco County - Case Information

Appellate & high court dockets

The Appellate Courts Case Information system allows you to search either the California Supreme Court or any of the state's six district Courts of Appeal, using the case (docket) number (including docket numbers from the lower courts involved in the appellate chain), or by case caption, attorney, or party information. Underlying filings and documents are not available.

California Supreme Court briefs from argued cases

For cases scheduled for oral argument Briefs of Argued Cases (including merits and amicus briefs) and related materials are available as PDFs—

• from 2010-current (new cases are posted the same day that the case is set for oral argument)
• browse by date of argument (sorted by case number)

Tips for Other States

Look for the state court system's site and check for an online "Case Information," "Case Lookup," "Filings," or similarly worded link.

• The National Center for State Courts maintains a list of court websites—some entries may list a specific page for "eFiling" or "calendar and records" or similar wording.
• Try a general search engine, adding a domain limitation for your jurisdiction's official governmental sites. Sample search for Connecticut:
  • court records site:ct.gov

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