Get the full text of a docket entry
explain_docket_entryReturn one docket entry in full — its number, filing date, the exact text the court published, whether a document is attached and a link to it — together with the entries around it and the posture of the case, so that you can explain to the user what the filing is and what it means in context. Use this when a user asks what the latest filing means, what an order says, or to explain a specific docket entry. CaseMagic returns the court's own words and the surrounding facts; it does not write the explanation and does not give legal advice. Identify the case with case_number (and court, if known), or with matter_id for a case already saved to the account. No account is needed to give a case number. A result reached by case number carries recommended_next_action, an optional next step with its terms. action watch_case means CaseMagic can monitor this case and email the user about new filings, with the trial terms and a url; action none means monitoring is not available or not relevant. Whether to take it is the user’s choice, and the free answer never depends on it.
Tool call template
This tool declares no required parameters. Add optional parameters from the input schema as needed.
{
"id": 1,
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"method": "tools/call",
"params": {
"arguments": {},
"name": "explain_docket_entry"
}
}Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| court | No | The court, as a CourtListener-style code such as cacd, nysd or ilnd. Optional: leave it out when the user does not know which district the case is in. | |
| matter_id | No | The CaseMagic matter id, as returned by create_case_passport or shown in an earlier result. Omit it when the account follows exactly one case and that is the one meant. | |
| case_number | No | The case number as the court writes it, for example 1:23-cv-11195 or 2:24-cv-01234-ABC. Judge initials are optional and are ignored when matching. | |
| docket_number | No | The docket entry number to explain, as shown on the docket, for example "312". Omit it for the most recent entry. |
Output Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| case | No | The case: court, case number, caption, filing date, status, judges, nature of suit, latest activity and docket size. | |
| entry | No | One docket entry. | |
| error | No | Present only when the call failed: a code, a message and, where there is one, an action such as a link to give the user. | |
| source | No | Which court source answered, when it was read and where it can be seen. | |
| case_url | No | The case’s public page on CaseMagic, which offers free email alerts and Watch. | |
| guidance | No | How to explain the entry. | |
| matter_id | No | The account matter id when the case was read through a saved case; null for a lookup. | |
| case_posture | No | Status, judge, cause and nature of suit. | |
| connect_token | No | Short-lived token for create_case_passport, present on a lookup by case number. | |
| docket_coverage | No | How much of the court docket CaseMagic holds for this case. | |
| what_comes_next | No | One sentence on where to send a user who wants to hear about new filings. | |
| surrounding_entries | No | Entries around it, for context. | |
| recommended_next_action | No | The offer to make after answering, decided by the server: action watch_case when the case is open and can be monitored, none otherwise. |