# CourtListener Legal Opinions & Dockets Scraper (`litezero/courtlistener-legal-docket-scraper`) Actor

Search and extract US Federal and Supreme Court legal opinions, case titles, docket numbers, judges, citations, filing dates, and case summaries.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/litezero/courtlistener-legal-docket-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [LiteZero](https://apify.com/litezero) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, AI, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.05 / 1,000 item scrapeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## ⚖️ CourtListener Legal Opinions & Dockets Scraper

Search and extract US Federal, Appellate, and Supreme Court legal opinions, case titles, docket numbers, judges, citations, and summaries directly from **CourtListener (Free Law Project)**.

***

### 🥊 Why This Actor Beats the Competition

| Feature | ⚡ CourtListener Scraper | 🐢 Traditional Legal Search & Westlaw |
|---|---|---|
| **Speed** | **30+ case records in < 2 seconds** | Expensive, clunky portals with slow page loads |
| **Pricing** | **$1.50 / 1,000 items** (Platform Usage: FREE) | Westlaw/LexisNexis cost thousands per seat/month |
| **LLM-Ready** | Clean JSON with markdown-formatted case snippets | Messy PDF scans with OCR artifacts |
| **Court Filters** | Filter by Supreme Court (`scotus`), Circuit courts (`ca9`) | Complex boolean query syntax required |
| **Anti-Bot Blocking** | Zero Captchas / Direct Native REST API | Aggressive bot shields on legal aggregators |

***

### 🛠️ Step-by-Step: How to Use

#### Method 1: Apify Web Console (No-Code GUI)

1. Enter your target **Search Query** (e.g. `fair use copyright`, `patent infringement`, `qualified immunity`).
2. Optionally enter a **Court Identifier** (e.g. `scotus` for US Supreme Court, `ca9` for 9th Circuit, `cand` for Northern District of California).
3. Set **Max Items** and click **Start**.
4. Download legal case datasets in JSON, CSV, or feed directly into your Legal LLM pipeline.

#### Method 2: Python SDK

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run_input = {
    "query": "artificial intelligence copyright",
    "court": "scotus",
    "maxItems": 25
}
run = client.actor("litezero/courtlistener-legal-docket-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(f"{item['caseName']} ({item['court']}) - Docket: {item['docketNumber']}")
```

#### Method 3: Node.js SDK

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('litezero/courtlistener-legal-docket-scraper').call({
    query: 'patent eligibility section 101',
    maxItems: 20,
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(`Extracted ${items.length} legal opinions.`);
```

#### Method 4: REST API / cURL

```bash
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/litezero~courtlistener-legal-docket-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "securities fraud class action", "maxItems": 20}'
```

***

### 📥 Input Parameters

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `query` | String | `"fair use copyright"` | Legal keyword, case name, doctrine, or statute to search. |
| `court` | String | *Optional* | Court identifier code (`scotus`, `ca1`–`ca11`, `cadc`, `cafc`, `cand`, `sdny`). |
| `maxItems` | Integer | `30` | Maximum number of cases / opinions to retrieve. |

***

### 📤 Output Data Dictionary

```json
{
  "id": 8941203,
  "caseName": "Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith",
  "docketNumber": "21-869",
  "court": "scotus",
  "courtCitationString": "Supreme Court of the United States",
  "dateFiled": "2023-05-18",
  "judges": "Sotomayor",
  "citation": "598 U.S. 508",
  "snippet": "The commercial nature of the use looms larger in the **fair use** analysis when both the original and secondary works share substantially the same purpose...",
  "courtListenerUrl": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/8941203/andy-warhol-foundation-for-the-visual-arts-inc-v-goldsmith/",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-04T10:00:00.000Z"
}
```

***

### 💡 Top Use Cases

1. **Legal LLM & RAG Pipelines:** Enrich AI legal copilots with authoritative US case law citations, judicial holdings, and docket timelines.
2. **Litigation Due Diligence:** Track judicial rulings, circuit court precedents, and litigation trends across federal jurisdictions.
3. **Law Firm Knowledge Management:** Monitor emerging rulings on IP, corporate securities, and regulatory compliance.

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

Legal topic, case name, statute, or doctrine to search (e.g. 'fair use copyright', 'patent infringement', 'miranda warning').

## `court` (type: `string`):

Optional court identifier (e.g. 'scotus' for US Supreme Court, 'ca9' for 9th Circuit, 'cadc' for DC Circuit, 'cand' for Northern District of California).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of legal opinions / cases to extract.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "fair use copyright",
  "maxItems": 30
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("litezero/courtlistener-legal-docket-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("litezero/courtlistener-legal-docket-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call litezero/courtlistener-legal-docket-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,litezero/courtlistener-legal-docket-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/yl84JKzAlL7jim3TM/builds/GAVs0NbG5n4u682nv/openapi.json