The Supreme Court Database

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Examples include the identity of the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed, the parties to the suit, the legal provisions considered in the case, and the votes of the Justices." /> <meta name="keywords" content="supreme court, spaeth, database" /> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <style type="text/css" media="screen,print">@import "includes/globalStyle.css";</style> <style type="text/css" media="screen,print">@import "fwCore/styleDebug.css";</style> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="includes/globalJs.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="fwCore/jsDebug.js"></script>  <script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.2/jquery.min.js"></script> <script src="includes/bxSlider/jquery.bxslider.min.js"></script> <link href="includes/bxSlider/jquery.bxslider.css" rel="stylesheet" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="images/favicon.ico"> </head> <body> <a name="top"></a> <table width="980" align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style=""> <tr> <td width="75%" style="height:90px; 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"> <div style="padding-left:0px; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:10px; font-size:150%;">Docket Number</div> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-top:1px solid #ccc;border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; background-color:#eee;"> <tr> <td width="33%" style="line-height:15px; text-align:center; padding:10px;"><strong>Variable Name</strong><br />docket</td> <td width="34%" style="line-height:15px; text-align:center; padding:10px;"><strong>Spaeth Name</strong><br />DOCKET</td> <td width="33%" style="line-height:15px; text-align:center; padding:10px;"><strong>Normalizations</strong><br />n/a</td> </tr> </table> <br /> This variable contains the docket number that the Supreme Court has assigned to the case. Prior to the first two terms of the Burger Court (1969-1970), different cases coming to the Court in different terms could have the same docket number. The Court eliminated the possibility of such duplication by including the last two digits of the appropriate term before the assigned docket number. Since the 1971 Term, the Court has also operated with a single docket. Cases filed pursuant to the Court's appellate jurisdiction have a two-digit number corresponding to the term in which they were filed, followed by a hyphen and a number varying from one to five digits. Cases invoking the Court's original jurisdiction have a number followed by the abbreviation, "Orig." <br /> <br />During much of the legacy period, docket number do not exist in the Reports; a handful of more modern cases also lack a docket number. For these, the docket variable has no entry. <br /> <br />For administrative purposes, the Court uses the letters, "A," "D," and "S," in place of the term year to identify applications ("A") for stays or bail, proceedings of disbarment or discipline of attorneys ("D"), and matters being held indefinitely for one reason or another ("S"). These occur infrequently and then almost always in the Court's summary orders at the back of each volume of the U.S.Reports. The database excludes these cases, the overwhelming majority of which are denials of petition for certiorari. <br /> <br />Note that the Court can consolidate multiple petitions--each with its own docket number--under one U.S. cite. If you are interested in only the first (lead) case, use the database organized by Supreme Court citation. If you are interested in all the cases consolidated under one cite, select the data organized by docket. Multiple docket numbers under a single case citation almost always contain the same issue as the lead case and differ only in the parties to the case and its origin and source <br /> <br />For the first release of the legacy dataset, only data by citation are available. Users interested in the Vinson Court forward can still download or analyze the data by citation or docket. </td> <td width="25%" valign="top" align="left" style="line-height:17px; padding-left:20px; border-left:1px solid #ccc;"> <div class="toc" onClick="toggleBlock('Introductory')">Introductory</div> <ul class="toc"> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=intro" class="toc">Introduction</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=cite" class="toc">Citing to the SCDB</a></li> </ul> <div class="toc" onClick="toggleBlock('Identification Variables')">Identification Variables</div> <ul class="toc"> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=caseId" class="toc">SCDB Case ID</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=docketId" class="toc">SCDB Docket ID</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=caseIssuesId" class="toc">SCDB Issues ID</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=voteId" class="toc">SCDB Vote ID</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=usCite" class="toc">U.S. Reporter Citation</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=sctCite" class="toc">Supreme Court Citation</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=ledCite" class="toc">Lawyers Edition Citation</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=lexisCite" class="toc">LEXIS Citation</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=docket" class="tocOn">Docket Number</a></li> </ul> <div class="toc" onClick="toggleBlock('Background Variables')">Background Variables</div> <ul class="toc"> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=caseName" class="toc">Case Name</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=petitioner" class="toc">Petitioner</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=petitionerState" class="toc">Petitioner State</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=respondent" class="toc">Respondent</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=respondentState" class="toc">Respondent State</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=jurisdiction" class="toc">Manner in which the Court takes Jurisdiction</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=adminAction" class="toc">Administrative Action Preceeding Litigation</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=adminActionState" class="toc">Administrative Action Preceeding Litigation State</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=threeJudgeFdc" class="toc">Three-Judge District Court</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=caseOrigin" class="toc">Origin of Case</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=caseOriginState" class="toc">Origin of Case State</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=caseSource" class="toc">Source of Case</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=caseSourceState" class="toc">Source of Case State</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=lcDisagreement" class="toc">Lower Court Disagreement</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=certReason" class="toc">Reason for Granting Cert</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=lcDisposition" class="toc">Lower Court Disposition</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=lcDispositionDirection" class="toc">Lower Court Disposition Direction</a></li> </ul> <div class="toc" onClick="toggleBlock('Chronological Variables')">Chronological Variables</div> <ul class="toc"> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=dateDecision" class="toc">Date of Decision</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=term" class="toc">Term of Court</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=naturalCourt" class="toc">Natural Court</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=chief" class="toc">Chief Justice</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=dateArgument" class="toc">Date of Oral Argument</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=dateRearg" class="toc">Date of Reargument</a></li> </ul> <div class="toc" onClick="toggleBlock('Substantive Variables')">Substantive Variables</div> <ul class="toc"> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=issue" class="toc">Issue</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=issueArea" class="toc">Issue Area</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=decisionDirection" class="toc">Decision Direction</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=decisionDirectionDissent" class="toc">Decision Direction Dissent</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=authorityDecision1" class="toc">Authority for Decision 1</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=authorityDecision2" class="toc">Authority for Decision 2</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=lawType" class="toc">Legal Provisions Considered by the Court</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=lawSupp" class="toc">Legal Provision Supplement</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=lawMinor" class="toc">Legal Provision Minor Supplement</a></li> </ul> <div class="toc" onClick="toggleBlock('Outcome Variables')">Outcome Variables</div> <ul class="toc"> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=decisionType" class="toc">Decision Type</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=declarationUncon" class="toc">Declaration of Unconstitutionality</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=caseDisposition" class="toc">Disposition of Case</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=caseDispositionUnusual" class="toc">Unusual Disposition</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=partyWinning" class="toc">Winning Party</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=precedentAlteration" class="toc">Formal Alteration of Precedent</a></li> </ul> <div class="toc" onClick="toggleBlock('Voting & Opinion Variables')">Voting & Opinion Variables</div> <ul class="toc"> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=voteUnclear" class="toc">Vote Not Clearly Specified</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=majOpinWriter" class="toc">Majority Opinion Writer</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=majOpinAssigner" class="toc">Majority Opinion Assigner</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=splitVote" class="toc">Split Vote</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=majVotes" class="toc">Majority Votes</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=minVotes" class="toc">Minority Votes</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=justice" class="toc">Justice ID</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=justiceName" class="toc">Justice Name</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=vote" class="toc">The Vote in the Case</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=opinion" class="toc">Opinion</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=direction" class="toc">Direction of the Individual Justice's Votes</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=majority" class="toc">Majority and Minority Voting by Justice</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=firstAgreement" class="toc">First Agreement</a></li> <li class="toc"><a href="documentation.php?var=secondAgreement" class="toc">Second Agreement</a></li> </td> </tr> </table> <br /> <div class="footer"> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="5" align="right" > <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="margin-right:25px;"> <tr>  <td style="width:15px;"> </td> <td class="miniNavButton" style="background:#360; "><a href="contact.php" style="font-size:75% ;color:#fff;">CONTACT</a></td> <td style="width:15px;"> </td>   <td class="miniNavButton" style="background:#360; "><a href="#top" 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