# CourtListener Scraper — US Case Law (`ponderable_hydrometer/courtlistener-scraper`) Actor Search US court opinions and case law from CourtListener (Free Law Project) — case name, court, date, docket, citation and judge. Free, optional key for higher limits. - **URL**: https://apify.com/ponderable\_hydrometer/courtlistener-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Ponderable Hydrometer](https://apify.com/ponderable_hydrometer) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, SEO tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $5.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## CourtListener Scraper — US Case Law & Opinions **Search the largest free US legal database — millions of court opinions — from CourtListener (Free Law Project).** Case name, court, date filed, docket number, citations, cite count, judge, a text snippet and links. Filter by court and date range across SCOTUS, federal circuits and state courts. Free keyless API; an optional token raises rate limits. For legal research, LLM datasets, citation-graph building and docket monitoring in an underserved legal niche. ### What you get **opinions mode** — per case: `caseName`, `caseNameFull`, `court`, `courtId`, `dateFiled`, `dateArgued`, `docketNumber`, `citations[]`, `neutralCite`, `citeCount`, `status`, `judge`, `clusterId`, `docketId`, `suitNature`, `downloadUrl`, `opinionId`, `snippet`, `absoluteUrl`. **courts mode** — per court: `id`, `shortName`, `fullName`, `jurisdiction`, `citationString`, `url`, `startDate`, `endDate`, `inUse`. ### Output sample (opinions mode) ```json { "caseName": "Harlow v. Fitzgerald", "caseNameFull": "Harlow et al. v. Fitzgerald", "court": "Supreme Court of the United States", "courtId": "scotus", "dateFiled": "1982-06-24", "dateArgued": "1981-11-30", "docketNumber": "80-945", "citations": ["457 U.S. 800"], "neutralCite": null, "citeCount": 15230, "status": "Published", "judge": "Powell", "clusterId": 111278, "docketId": 63421, "suitNature": "Civil Rights", "downloadUrl": "https://.../harlow.pdf", "opinionId": 111278, "snippet": "Government officials performing discretionary functions...", "absoluteUrl": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/111278/harlow-v-fitzgerald/" } ```` ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `mode` | string | `opinions` (search case law) or `courts` (list courts). | | `query` | string | Full-text search over opinions. | | `type` | string | `o` opinions, `r` RECAP dockets, `p` judges, `oa` oral args. | | `court` | string | Court id, e.g. `scotus`, `ca9`. | | `filedAfter` / `filedBefore` | string | Date range, `YYYY-MM-DD`. | | `orderBy` | string | e.g. `dateFiled desc`, `score desc`, `citeCount desc`. | | `jurisdiction` | string | For `courts` mode, e.g. `F` (federal appellate), `S` (state). | | `token` | string (secret) | Optional CourtListener token for higher limits. | | `maxResults` | integer | Cap on rows (default 100). | ### Example input ```json { "query": "qualified immunity", "court": "scotus", "filedAfter": "2015-01-01", "orderBy": "dateFiled desc", "maxResults": 50 } ``` List federal courts with `{"mode":"courts","jurisdiction":"F","maxResults":50}`. ### Why this actor - **Largest free US legal corpus** — CourtListener's v4 search with proper **cursor pagination**, so you get whole result sets, not just the first page. - **The filters that matter** — full-text query, court, filed-after/before, ordering by relevance/date/citation count. - **Clean normalized rows** — citations, docket, judge, snippet and PDF link, suited to research and citation graphs. ### Auth Works **keyless**. Supplying an optional CourtListener `token` (free account at courtlistener.com) raises rate limits for larger jobs. Leave it empty to run without one. ### Pricing Pay per result — **$5 per 1,000 results** (one result = one opinion/case, or one court in courts mode). No subscription; you pay only for what you get. ### Notes & limits - Public data from the Free Law Project; you are responsible for compliant use. Not affiliated with CourtListener/Free Law Project. ### Related actors - **Congress.gov Scraper** — US bills, laws and members. - **eCFR Scraper** — US Code of Federal Regulations section text. - **Australia Legislation Scraper** — Australian federal Acts and instruments. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): "opinions" = search case law; "courts" = list courts. ## `query` (type: `string`): Full-text search over opinions, e.g. "qualified immunity" or a party name. ## `type` (type: `string`): CourtListener search type: o=opinions, r=RECAP dockets, p=people/judges, oa=oral arguments. ## `court` (type: `string`): Court id to restrict to, e.g. "scotus", "ca9", "ca1". Use mode=courts to list ids. ## `filedAfter` (type: `string`): Only opinions filed on/after this date, e.g. "2020-01-01". ## `filedBefore` (type: `string`): Only opinions filed on/before this date, e.g. "2024-12-31". ## `orderBy` (type: `string`): e.g. "score desc" (relevance), "dateFiled desc", "dateFiled asc", "citeCount desc". ## `jurisdiction` (type: `string`): For mode=courts: filter by jurisdiction, e.g. "F" (federal appellate), "S" (state). ## `token` (type: `string`): Optional CourtListener token for higher rate limits (free at courtlistener.com). Leave empty to run keyless. Kept secret. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Cap on number of results returned. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "opinions", "query": "qualified immunity", "type": "o", "maxResults": 100 } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "query": "qualified immunity" }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("ponderable_hydrometer/courtlistener-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "query": "qualified immunity" } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("ponderable_hydrometer/courtlistener-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "query": "qualified immunity" }' | apify call ponderable_hydrometer/courtlistener-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=ponderable_hydrometer/courtlistener-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "CourtListener Scraper — US Case Law", "description": "Search US court opinions and case law from CourtListener (Free Law Project) — case name, court, date, docket, citation and judge. Free, optional key for higher limits.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "uMWWML6qJcsMsGVBu" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/ponderable_hydrometer~courtlistener-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-ponderable_hydrometer-courtlistener-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/ponderable_hydrometer~courtlistener-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-ponderable_hydrometer-courtlistener-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/ponderable_hydrometer~courtlistener-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-ponderable_hydrometer-courtlistener-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "opinions", "courts" ], "type": "string", "description": "\"opinions\" = search case law; \"courts\" = list courts.", "default": "opinions" }, "query": { "title": "Query", "type": "string", "description": "Full-text search over opinions, e.g. \"qualified immunity\" or a party name." }, "type": { "title": "Result type", "enum": [ "o", "r", "p", "oa" ], "type": "string", "description": "CourtListener search type: o=opinions, r=RECAP dockets, p=people/judges, oa=oral arguments.", "default": "o" }, "court": { "title": "Court", "type": "string", "description": "Court id to restrict to, e.g. \"scotus\", \"ca9\", \"ca1\". Use mode=courts to list ids." }, "filedAfter": { "title": "Filed after", "type": "string", "description": "Only opinions filed on/after this date, e.g. \"2020-01-01\"." }, "filedBefore": { "title": "Filed before", "type": "string", "description": "Only opinions filed on/before this date, e.g. \"2024-12-31\"." }, "orderBy": { "title": "Order by", "type": "string", "description": "e.g. \"score desc\" (relevance), \"dateFiled desc\", \"dateFiled asc\", \"citeCount desc\"." }, "jurisdiction": { "title": "Jurisdiction (courts mode)", "type": "string", "description": "For mode=courts: filter by jurisdiction, e.g. \"F\" (federal appellate), \"S\" (state)." }, "token": { "title": "CourtListener API token (optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Optional CourtListener token for higher rate limits (free at courtlistener.com). Leave empty to run keyless. Kept secret." }, "maxResults": { "title": "Max results", "minimum": 1, "type": "integer", "description": "Cap on number of results returned.", "default": 100 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```