For information on how to find federal caselaw, see the Federal Caselaw guide.
The official websites of the Pennsylvania Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts include court rules, select forms, and more. Use PACER to access case and docket information for the Pennsylvania District Courts.
Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law, all available in the library, include select dockets and documents from the Pennsylvania District Courts. See below for more details.
For older documents, you may need to contact the National Archives. Their Pennsylvania Collection for the District Courts encompasses 1787-1994.
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Official Site
Includes court rules, select forms, a list of judges and their court room preferences, and select opinions (2005 - present).
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Official Site
Includes court rules, select forms, a list of judges and their court room preferences, and select opinions (1999 - present).
United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Official Site
Includes court rules, select forms, a list of judges and their court room preferences, and select opinions (2006-current).
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records)
Provides case and docket information from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts. Coverage dates vary by court. Registration is required.
For more information about PACER, its uses, and its charges, please see its Frequently Asked Questions page.
Briefs, Pleadings & Motions (3rd Circuit)
Available on the library's Lexis computers. From the Content Type tab, select Briefs, Pleadings & Motions > Federal > 3rd Circuit. Filtering to Pennsylvania District Courts is available after conducting a search.
Dockets United States District Court
Available on the library's Lexis computers. From Content, select Dockets(CourtLink).
Pennsylvania Federal District Court Dockets
Available on the library's Westlaw computers.
Includes Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts. Comprehensive full docket coverage begins with 2000. Additional selected dockets prior to 2000 may be available.
Third Circuit Trial Court Documents
Available on the library's Westlaw computers.
Selected coverage begins with 1991.
Includes trial level court documents from the District Courts found within the Third Circuit. After the search is run, the results can be limited to just the Pennsylvania District Courts by using the filters on the left.
Dockets Search, Districts of Pennsylvania
Available on the library's Bloomberg Law computers. From Popular Links, select Dockets Search. In the "Courts" search bar, type to select your court:
Coverage begins with 1989.
Records of the District Courts of the United States National Archives
The Pennsylvania Collection for the District Courts encompasses 1787-1994.