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courtlistener-sdk

README.md

@beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk

TypeScript SDK and MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for the CourtListener API - the largest free legal database.

npm version License: MIT

Features

  • ⚖️ Case Law - Access millions of legal opinions from federal and state courts
  • 👨‍⚖️ Judge Data - Comprehensive judge profiles and biographical information
  • 🎙️ Oral Arguments - Audio recordings with metadata
  • 📚 Citation Tools - Advanced citation lookup and normalization
  • 💼 PACER Integration - Federal court docket access
  • 🔔 Real-time Alerts - Track changes to cases and dockets
  • 🤖 MCP Server - AI-ready server for integration with Claude and other AI assistants
  • 🔍 Advanced Search - Powerful search with Elasticsearch backend

Installation

# npm
npm install @beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk

# yarn
yarn add @beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk

# pnpm
pnpm add @beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk

# bun
bun add @beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk

Authentication

The CourtListener API requires authentication for most endpoints. Get your API token from CourtListener.

// Set via environment variable
process.env.COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN = 'your-token';

// Or configure the axios instance directly
import { axiosInstance } from '@beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk';
axiosInstance.defaults.headers.common['Authorization'] = 'Token your-token';

Quick Start

Basic Search

import { getSearch } from '@beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk';

// Search for Supreme Court cases
const results = await getSearch({
  type: 'o', // opinions
  q: 'first amendment',
  court: 'scotus',
  order_by: 'score desc',
  highlight: 'text'
});

console.log(`Found ${results.count} cases`);
results.results.forEach(result => {
  console.log(`- ${result.caseName} (${result.dateFiled})`);
  if (result.snippet) {
    console.log(`  Snippet: ${result.snippet}`);
  }
});

Citation Lookup

import { postCitationLookup } from '@beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk';

// Look up citations
const citations = await postCitationLookup({
  text: 'I need the case at 410 U.S. 113 and also 5 F.3d 1234.',
  html: false
});

console.log('Found citations:');
citations.citations.forEach(cite => {
  console.log(`- ${cite.normalized_cite}: ${cite.case_name}`);
  console.log(`  Court: ${cite.court}`);
  console.log(`  URL: ${cite.absolute_url}`);
});

Judge Information

import { getPeople, getPositions } from '@beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk';

// Search for judges
const judges = await getPeople({
  name_last: 'Roberts',
  court: 'scotus'
});

// Get judge positions
for (const judge of judges.results) {
  const positions = await getPositions({
    person: judge.id
  });
  
  positions.results.forEach(pos => {
    console.log(`${judge.name_full}: ${pos.position_type} at ${pos.court_name}`);
  });
}

Docket Monitoring

import { getDockets, postDocketAlerts } from '@beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk';

// Search for dockets
const dockets = await getDockets({
  q: 'Google',
  court: 'cafc',
  order_by: 'date_created desc'
});

// Create alert for a docket
if (dockets.results.length > 0) {
  const alert = await postDocketAlerts({
    docket: dockets.results[0].id,
    alert_type: 'subscription'
  });
  
  console.log('Alert created:', alert.id);
}

API Reference

Search Endpoints

  • getSearch - Universal search across all content types
  • getOpinions - Search legal opinions
  • getDockets - Search dockets
  • getAudio - Search oral arguments

Case Law Endpoints

  • getClusters - Get opinion clusters
  • getOpinions - Get individual opinions
  • getCitations - Get citation objects

People & Courts

  • getPeople - Search judges and parties
  • getPositions - Get judge positions
  • getCourts - Get court information
  • getPoliticalAffiliations - Get political data

Financial Disclosures

  • getFinancialDisclosures - Judge financial disclosures
  • getInvestments - Investment records
  • getPositions - Position holdings
  • getGifts - Gift disclosures

PACER & RECAP

  • getRecap - RECAP document archive
  • postRecapFetch - Request PACER documents

Alerts & Monitoring

  • getAlerts - Manage search alerts
  • getDocketAlerts - Manage docket alerts

MCP Server

The MCP server allows AI assistants to interact with the CourtListener API.

Running the Server

# With authentication token
COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN=your-token npx @beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk/mcp

# Or if installed locally
cd node_modules/@beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk
COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN=your-token npm run mcp:server

Integration with Claude

Add to your Claude configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "courtlistener": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN": "your-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Search Types

When using the universal search endpoint, specify the type:

  • o - Opinions
  • r - RECAP documents
  • d - Dockets
  • p - People (judges)
  • oa - Oral arguments

Advanced Search Syntax

CourtListener supports advanced search operators:

// Proximity search
q: '"patent infringement"~10'  // Within 10 words

// Field-specific search
q: 'caseName:"Apple v. Samsung"'

// Boolean operators
q: 'copyright AND (fair use OR transformative)'

// Date ranges
q: 'dateFiled:[2020-01-01 TO 2024-12-31]'

Rate Limiting

CourtListener has rate limits based on your account type:

  • Free tier: 5,000 requests/day
  • Membership tiers: Higher limits available

The SDK includes automatic retry logic for rate-limited requests.

Error Handling

import { getSearch } from '@beshkenadze/courtlistener-sdk';

try {
  const results = await getSearch({
    type: 'o',
    q: 'search term'
  });
} catch (error) {
  if (error.response?.status === 401) {
    console.error('Invalid API token');
  } else if (error.response?.status === 429) {
    console.error('Rate limit exceeded');
  } else {
    console.error('API error:', error.message);
  }
}

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details

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