PACER Help

Case Search

The Case Search allows you to search using case number, case number range, or party/attorney.

For Case Number/Range searches:

The format of the case number must be entered as '##-####', where the first two digits are the year and the last four are the number (with the exception of courts with 5 digits in the case numbers). For example, 05-1234.
When entering a range of numbers, the second case number must be later than the first case number. If the second case number field is blank, the search is performed on a single case number.

For Party/Attorney searches:

A minimum of 2 characters must be included.
A "*" will match on zero or more characters: "Smil*y" will match "Smily", "Smilley" and "Smiley".
A "?" will match on exactly one character: "Smil?y" will match "Smiley" and will not match "Smilley" or "Smily".
"*" and "?" do not count towards the 2 character minimum.
There is an implicit wildcard at the end of a search term: "Smith" will match "Smithers".
There is no implicit wildcard at the beginning of a search term, so use "*Smith" if you want to match "Jones, Smith, and Martin".
If you check "Exact Matches Only", you cannot use a wildcard, and there are no implicit wildcards.
A double comma will match a single comma in the last name: "Local,, 123" will match "Local, 123" for a last name and not use 123 for the first name.
The search is not case sensitive and spaces are not needed. For instance, both "Jones, Jim" and "jones,jim" will find the same information.

The Advanced Search adds the ability to search on other features. These are:

Search	Description
Case types	You can limit your matches to particular case types. You can hold the [Ctrl] key and click to select multiple values from this list.
Case origin	You can search only for cases from a particular originating court. You can hold the [Ctrl] key and click to select multiple values from this list.
Originating case	You can search for an originating case. Wildcard usage is allowed. No terminating "*" is assumed as it is for party name. Searching for "00cr123" will not find "00cr1234".
Case filed date range	You can search for a date range based on the date the case was filed.
Case closed date range	You can search for a date range based on the date the case was closed.
Docket activity date range	You can search for a date range based on the date docket entries were entered.
Nature of suit	You can select a nature of suit from the list. You can hold the [Ctrl] key and click to select multiple values from this list.
Sort by	You can sort by case number, or date filed, in either ascending or descending order.
Open/Closed	You can elect to match only open cases, only closed ones, or both.

All criteria are optional, but at least one criterion must be entered before a search can be performed. Entering more criteria, can limit the search and may return fewer results.

Calendar Help

Individual courts will create their own help text for this topic

Opinion Help

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Order/Judgment Help

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Order Selection Table Help

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Case Selection Table Help

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Case Summary Help

Individual courts will create their own help text for this topic

Case Query Help

Individual courts will create their own help text for this topic

Bill History Help

Individual courts will create their own help text for this topic

Bill History Report Help

Individual courts will create their own help text for this topic
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