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Install in OpenClaw
/install gov-court-records
Description
Search US court opinions, dockets, and judges. 3 tools for federal court records research.
README (SKILL.md)
US Court Records
Search federal court opinions, dockets, and judges from CourtListener.
Setup
mcporter add gov-courts --url https://court-records-mcp.apify.actor/mcp --transport streamable-http
Or add to your OpenClaw MCP config (~/.openclaw/mcp.json):
{
"servers": {
"gov-courts": {
"url": "https://court-records-mcp.apify.actor/mcp",
"transport": "streamable-http"
}
}
}
Available Tools
court_search_opinions
Search US court opinions and case law by keyword, court, and date range.
Search for Supreme Court opinions on patent law
Find recent appellate decisions on data privacy
Parameters: query (required), court, dateAfter (YYYY-MM-DD), dateBefore, limit
court_search_dockets
Search court dockets and case filings.
Search dockets for Google antitrust case
Find recent patent infringement filings
Parameters: query (required), court, dateAfter (YYYY-MM-DD), dateBefore, limit
court_search_judges
Search judges in the US court system.
Search for judges in the 9th Circuit
Look up Judge Smith
Parameters: query (required), court, limit
Data Sources
- CourtListener — Free Law Project (court opinions, dockets, judges)
- PACER — Public Access to Court Electronic Records
Use Cases
- Legal research and case law analysis
- Litigation tracking
- Judicial background research
- Regulatory compliance research
All data from free public APIs. Zero cost. No API keys required.
Usage Guidance
Before installing/using this skill: 1) Consider trust: the skill instructs you to add a third‑party MCP server (court-records-mcp.apify.actor). That endpoint will see every query and response — only add it if you trust that operator. 2) Verify mcporter: the skill requires a local mcporter binary; obtain it from a trusted source and verify it before use. 3) Question the PACER claim: PACER is normally paid; ask the author how PACER data is being provided for 'zero cost' and whether any credentials or scraping are involved. 4) If you need stronger privacy/assurance, prefer a skill that uses official CourtListener APIs or self-host the MCP proxy. 5) Check the linked GitHub repo (owner and code) and prefer reviews/community trust before adding the server to your ~/.openclaw/mcp.json. Removing the server from your config will stop future queries from going to that endpoint.
Capability Analysis
Type: OpenClaw Skill
Name: gov-court-records
Version: 1.0.0
The skill is classified as suspicious due to its reliance on an external, third-party hosted service for its core functionality. The `SKILL.md` file instructs the OpenClaw agent to configure an MCP server using the URL `https://court-records-mcp.apify.actor/mcp`. While the stated purpose (searching court records) is benign, integrating an external service from an arbitrary platform like Apify introduces a supply chain risk. The skill bundle itself does not contain malicious code, but it directs the agent to an external endpoint that could potentially be compromised or designed with malicious intent, making it a risky capability without clear malicious intent within the bundle.
Capability Assessment
Purpose & Capability
The skill claims to search US court opinions, dockets, and judges (CourtListener) which aligns with the provided tools. Requiring the mcporter binary to register an MCP server is plausible given the OpenClaw MCP model, but the explicit inclusion of PACER as a data source while also asserting 'All data from free public APIs. Zero cost.' is inconsistent (PACER is a paid system).
Instruction Scope
The SKILL.md instructs the agent/user to add a remote MCP server URL (https://court-records-mcp.apify.actor/mcp) either via mcporter or by editing ~/.openclaw/mcp.json. That routes all queries through a third-party proxy, which can observe/search/record queries and results. The instructions do not request unrelated local files or credentials, but they do ask to modify a local agent config (persisting the server).
Install Mechanism
This is an instruction-only skill (no install spec), so nothing is written by the skill itself. However it requires the mcporter binary to be present; users must obtain/trust that binary independently. The remote endpoint is hosted on an apify.actor domain (a third-party hosting service) rather than an official CourtListener host, which increases the trust surface.
Credentials
No environment variables or credentials are requested, which is proportionate. However the SKILL.md references PACER as a source (a paid system) while asserting zero-cost public APIs; if PACER content is being provided via a proxy, that may imply the proxy is doing additional scraping or using credentials, which isn't explained.
Persistence & Privilege
always:false and user-invocable are appropriate. The main persistence concern is that the guide asks the user to add a remote server to ~/.openclaw/mcp.json (a persistent config change) — this is expected for MCP servers but means future queries will go through that endpoint until removed.
How to Use
- Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
- Run the install command in chat:
/install gov-court-records - After installation, invoke the skill by name or use
/gov-court-records - Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
Version History
v1.0.0
Initial release of US federal court records search:
- Search US court opinions, dockets, and judges with three dedicated tools.
- Supports keyword, court, and date range filtering.
- Data sourced from CourtListener (opinions, dockets, judges) and PACER.
- Designed for legal research, litigation tracking, and judicial research.
- No API keys or fees required; all data from public APIs.
Metadata
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Gov Court Records?
Search US court opinions, dockets, and judges. 3 tools for federal court records research. It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 469 downloads so far.
How do I install Gov Court Records?
Run "/install gov-court-records" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.
Is Gov Court Records free?
Yes, Gov Court Records is completely free (open-source). You can download, install and use it at no cost.
Which platforms does Gov Court Records support?
Gov Court Records is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).
Who created Gov Court Records?
It is built and maintained by Martin (@martc03); the current version is v1.0.0.
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