How I use RECAP Search Alerts for PACER Data
Michael Lissner is the director of Free Law Project, and has been using RECAP Search Alerts for several months while they were in beta.
Last week, after several years of work, we launched RECAP Search Alerts. This is a particularly satisfying launch for me personally, since case law alerts were the first feature I developed on CourtListener back in 2009, and we've wanted to launch search alerts for PACER data ever since.
Over the years, users and organizations have asked for this feature over and over, and we're really proud to finally have it. I'm excited about how it is both a powerful tool for high-end legal monitoring and also a simple tool you can use as an average American. Already, nearly 150 people are using the system.
RECAP Search Alerts have been in beta for the past six months, and I've been using them during this time.
I'm neither a lawyer nor a legal researcher, but here are some ways that I've added it to my workflow.
1. To monitor FLP
As the director of Free Law Project, one thing I want to know is, Has my organization been sued? So far, this alert hasn't triggered, but by creating a real-time alert for case names that include Free Law Project, I'll know within minutes if it ever happens.
2. To monitor CourtListener's impact
Every week, many people reference CourtListener in their filings. By creating a weekly alert for CourtListener OR "Court Listener", I'm able to keep up with these references and see how system is being used.
3. To watch for litigation
The FBI is investigating the mayor of Oakland. A security researcher's home was searched and the reason remains murky. I want to know when there are new cases about these topics, so I created daily alerts for the mayor's name and the researcher's name, both filtered to the jurisdiction where more information will be filed.
4. To monitor SCOTUS citations
In 2019, Public.Resource.Org had a landmark win related to public access to statutes. I want to know whenever that case is cited in a federal filing, so I have an alert for that purpose.
5. To monitor particular cases for topics
The American Bar Association sued the Trump administration. I want to know if any amicus briefs get filed in that case, so I created an alert for the word amicus appearing in the case.
CourtListener has docket alerts, so I could have used those to monitor the entire case, but a search alert lets me ignore the case until a particular topic comes up.
And that's just the beginning
So those are my favorite ways to use this new feature as an average Joe. There's even more it can do for organizations, and we'll be talking about that soon.
To learn more about it or to get started, I recommend reading our blog post, checking out the documentation, or watching our YouTube video.
The other way to learn more is to just try it! Make a search in the RECAP Archive and hit the bell icon in the query bar. That's it! You'll start getting alert emails as soon as there are new hits.
