Dockets, filings, and court records
Order
An order is a written direction from the judge deciding something in the case, from a one-line scheduling change to a ruling that ends the lawsuit.
Orders are where the case actually moves. Most docket reading is a hunt for them: find the orders, in sequence, and you have the story of the litigation without reading a single brief. An order usually names the docket number of whatever it is deciding.
Not every order is a document. A short one can be entered as text on the docket, and a ruling made from the bench often appears first as a minute entry with a written order following days later.
Reading orders in sequence is the fastest way to understand any case. The docket text usually says what was granted or denied and which filing it addressed, so you can reconstruct the whole procedural history without paying for a single document.
How it appears on a docket
ORDER granting in part and denying in part 42 Motion to Dismiss. Counts II and IV are dismissed with prejudice; Count I proceeds. Signed by Judge Alvarez on 11/22/2025.
Related terms
- Minute Entry — A minute entry is the clerk's note on the docket recording something that happened in the courtroom, usually with no document attached.
- Judgment — A judgment is the court's final decision resolving the claims in a case and stating who wins and what they get.
More on dockets, filings, and court records
See this term in a real case
Search federal court records and read the filings where order actually shows up. New to federal dockets? Start with how to find a federal case.