LibGuides: Massachusetts Legal Research: Massachusetts State Dockets

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court

Mass Appellate Courts - Public Case Information
SJC dockets for cases entered since January 1, 1992. Appeals Court dockets for cases entered since January 1, 1988. Briefs filed with both courts since September 2007 are usually available in PDF through the docket sheet. Some select earlier materials may be available.
Westlaw Dockets
SJC and Appeals Court docket coverage from January 2000. Choose the specific court to search. Update your docket sheet via the Update link at the top of the docket sheet. More search options than the free site, listed above. Limited filings may be available.
Westlaw Filings Tab (Sample Case)
Example: Johnson v. Settino, 495 Mass. 42 (2024). When you're looking at a case opinion on Westlaw, make use of the Filings tab to find available filings (usually only briefs for state cases). Lexis has a similar feature.
Lexis: Briefs, Pleadings & Motions (MA)
Coverage is not noted on database but spotty before 2007. Search by keyword or use Name field to search by party name(s). Includes briefs from the Appeals Court and SJC.
SJC Records & Briefs
Law Library Microform Collection: KFM2445.9 .S96x. Records & briefs from SJC cases reported in the Mass Reports from vol. 219 (1914) through vol. 449 (Oct. 2007).
SJC Oral Arguments
Suffolk University Law School, in cooperation with the Mass SJC, maintains this site in order to make oral arguments before the SJC accessible to the general public.

Massachusetts Trial Courts

Massachusetts Trial Court Electronic Case Access
Public access to dockets for cases in BMC, District, Housing, Land, Probate & Family, and Superior Courts. Choose court and search by various fields, including docket number. Name searching is available for civil but not criminal cases. Select images of court filings are available for some recent civil cases. Attorneys can register for enhanced access to their own cases.
Trellis
Focuses on state court docket coverage.
Bloomberg Law Dockets (MA)
Coverage information for the various MA trial courts. Limited access to underlying court filings (usually only what's available on the public site, above); some breaking complaints provided. Docket tracking and updating available to BC Law users.
CourtLink (via Lexis)
Docket sheets for civil cases in the MA Superior Courts, though not regularly updated. Use in conjunction with free MA trial court docketing system.
Westlaw: Massachusetts Civil Trial Court Documents
Selected coverage of motions, trial court memoranda, trial pleadings and other civil trial filings from Massachusetts trial courts, beginning in 1995.

Additional Resources: MA Court Records

If you're unable to find what you need through above resources, you can contact or visit the specific court at issue for guidance on how to access dockets and court filings. This may involve copying fees and/or a visit to the courthouse. Note: if the trial court decision was appealed, you might be able to find helpful information through the appellate docket.

Uniform Rules on Public Access to Court Records Rule 5: Remote access to electronic court records
Court rule addressing which publicly available court records shall be made remotely accessible to the public (unless access is otherwise restricted or exempted). Originally adopted in 2016 and amended since.
Accessing Court Archives
Information on how and where you can access historic records in the court archives. Depending on how old and what type of case it was, records may be held at the local court or in the Massachusetts Archives.
R. Kirkland Cozine, "The Emergence of Written Appellate Briefs in the Nineteenth-Century United States"
Covers the history of written argument in U.S. appellate proceedings (whether or not termed "briefs"), with specific sections on the U.S. Supreme Court and Massachusetts and New York state appellate courts.