docket

Definition of docket

Etymology

Origin uncertain; perhaps a diminutive of dock.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈdɒkɪt/
• Rhymes: -ɒkɪt

Noun

docket (plural dockets)

1. (obsolete) A summary; a brief digest.
2. (law) A short entry of the proceedings of a court; the register containing them; the office containing the register.
3. (law) A schedule of cases awaiting action in a court.
4. An agenda of things to be done.
5. A ticket or label fixed to something, showing its contents or directions to its use.

Verb

to docket (third-person singular simple present dockets, present participle docketing, simple past and past participle docketed)

1. (transitive) To make an entry in a docket.
2. (transitive) To label a parcel etc.

Further reading

Docket (court)

A docket (abbreviated as dkt.) is the official schedule of hearings in a court of law. The term originally referred to the large folio books in which clerks recorded all filings and court proceedings for each case. Rules of civil procedure often state that the court clerk shall record specific bits of information "on the docket" when a specific event occurs.

Today, in most industrialized countries, such records have been computerized. However, in the United States of America there is currently no one comprehensive docket database for all state and federal courts. For example the online docket system for the federal courts is known as PACER. The United States Supreme Court has a docket system, and most state courts in the U.S. have their own docket systems as well. All Pacer and US Supreme Court dockets can be retrieved for free at FreeCourtDockets.com. Other state, county and local court dockets may be accessed by a variety of methods, such as free web directories (see, for example, [1]), fee-based directories such as Courtport.com, commercial services such as LexisNexis Courtlink or Westlaw CourtExpress, or by going to the individual court website. Both Westlaw and LexisNexis integrate some court docket materials into their legal information databases.

In the United States, court dockets are considered to be a subset of the type of document known as public records. Many public records databases and directories also include references to court dockets.

The term is also sometimes used informally to refer to a court calendar, the schedule of the appearances scheduled for a court, or the caseload as a whole. Some courts may differentiate between "docket" (the dates on which the court is open) and "oral argument calendar" (the dates for which each case is scheduled).