# CourtListener API: Get court opinion

> Finds a US court opinion on CourtListener by case name, citation, or opinion link, and returns its metadata, opinions, judges, citing-case count and the lead opinion's full text from its PDF.

Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by CourtListener.

- Page: https://fous.com/methods/courtlistener.com/get-court-opinion
- Method: `courtlistener.com/get_court_opinion`, version 1
- Website: courtlistener.com
- Returns: case name, court, date, citations, docket, judges, opinions, lead opinion text, citing-case count, links
- Effect: read (it gets data and changes nothing)
- Sign-in: none needed
- Cost: 1 credit per completed run (1¢ with pay as you go); failed runs are free

## Inputs

| Field | Type | Required | In the run below | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `case` | string | yes | `"576 U.S. 644"` | Case name, citation, or CourtListener opinion link. Example: Obergefell v. Hodges. |
| `court` | string | no |  | Court name to distinguish matching cases. Example: Supreme Court of the United States. Default "". |

## Output

From a run on Oct 31, 2026, shortened. Its input:

```json
{
  "case": "576 U.S. 644"
}
```

Its output:

```json
{
  "court": "Supreme Court of the United States",
  "opinions": [
    {
      "type": "majority",
      "author": "Kennedy"
    },
    {
      "type": "dissent",
      "author": "Roberts"
    },
    {
      "type": "dissent",
      "author": "Scalia"
    }
  ],
  "case_name": "Obergefell v. Hodges",
  "citations": [
    "192 L. Ed. 2d 609",
    "135 S. Ct. 2584",
    "2015 U.S. LEXIS 4250"
  ],
  "truncated": false,
  "author_judge": "Kennedy",
  "date_decided": "2015-06-26",
  "other_judges": [
    "Ginsburg",
    "Breyer",
    "Sotomayor"
  ],
  "docket_number": "14-556",
  "lead_opinion_text": "_________________\n_________________\n1 Cite as: 576 U. S. ____ (2015)\nOpinion of the Court\nNOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the\npreliminary print of the United States Reports. Readers are requested to\nnotify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the Unite…",
  "original_pdf_link": "https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf",
  "citing_cases_count": 964,
  "courtlistener_link": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2812209/obergefell-v-hodges/"
}
```

## Run it

From code, with a Fous API key in `FOUS_API_KEY`; the answer's `data` holds the output:

```bash
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"method":"courtlistener.com/get_court_opinion","input":{"case":"576 U.S. 644"}}'
```

From an AI agent connected to the Fous MCP server: its `run` with the same method and input. To connect one, give it `set up https://fous.com/SKILL.md`.

## Ask your agent

- Pull up the full text of Miranda v. Arizona and tell me how many later cases have cited it.
- I need the lead opinion text and judges for 410 U.S. 113 — can you find it on CourtListener?
- Get the Ninth Circuit's opinion in Oracle America v. Google, including the docket number and decision date.
- What citations, judges, and concurring or dissenting opinions are listed for New York Times Co. v. Sullivan?
- Here's a link: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2812209/obergefell-v-hodges/ — fetch the case metadata and the majority opinion's text.

## Input schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "case"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "case": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Case name, citation, or CourtListener opinion link. Example: Obergefell v. Hodges."
    },
    "court": {
      "type": "string",
      "default": "",
      "description": "Court name to distinguish matching cases. Example: Supreme Court of the United States."
    }
  }
}
```

## Output schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "case_name",
    "court",
    "date_decided",
    "citations",
    "docket_number",
    "author_judge",
    "other_judges",
    "opinions",
    "lead_opinion_text",
    "truncated",
    "citing_cases_count",
    "courtlistener_link",
    "original_pdf_link"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "court": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ]
    },
    "opinions": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "required": [
          "type",
          "author"
        ],
        "properties": {
          "type": {
            "type": "string"
          },
          "author": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ]
          }
        },
        "additionalProperties": false
      }
    },
    "case_name": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "citations": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "string"
      }
    },
    "truncated": {
      "type": "boolean"
    },
    "author_judge": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ]
    },
    "date_decided": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "format": "date"
    },
    "other_judges": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "string"
      }
    },
    "docket_number": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ]
    },
    "lead_opinion_text": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "original_pdf_link": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ]
    },
    "citing_cases_count": {
      "type": "integer"
    },
    "courtlistener_link": {
      "type": "string"
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false
}
```

## See more

- [CourtListener API: Search case law](https://fous.com/methods/courtlistener.com/search-case-law.md): Searches CourtListener US court opinions by keywords or case name, with optional court, decision dates and sorting.
- [CourtListener API: Search federal dockets by party](https://fous.com/methods/courtlistener.com/search-federal-dockets.md): Finds federal RECAP dockets involving a named person or company, newest filed first. Only dockets in the RECAP Archive appear.
- [Oyez API: Get Supreme Court case](https://fous.com/methods/oyez.org/get-supreme-court-case.md): Finds an Oyez Supreme Court case by name or case link and returns its summary, decision, justice votes and argument audio links.
- [Oyez API: List term cases](https://fous.com/methods/oyez.org/list-term-cases.md): Lists Oyez Supreme Court cases for a term, sorted by argument date then name. Decision dates and vote splits are blank where Oyez does not provide them.
- [The National Archives API: Search judgments](https://fous.com/methods/caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/search-judgments.md): Searches UK court judgments and tribunal decisions on Find Case Law by keywords or party names. Results can be filtered by court and by judgment date.
- [Metacritic API: Get scores](https://fous.com/methods/metacritic.com/get-scores.md): Finds a game, movie or TV show on Metacritic by name and returns critic and user scores with title details.
- [CNN API: Read an article](https://fous.com/methods/cnn.com/read-article.md): Reads a CNN article by link or headline and returns its headline, summary, authors, dates, section, tags, main image and public paragraphs. Subscriber stories return only a brief public preview; live blogs include their entries.
- [Craigslist API: Get listing details](https://fous.com/methods/craigslist.org/get-listing.md): Gets the public details of a Craigslist listing from its link. Deleted or expired listings are not returned, and hidden contact details are not included.
- [All CourtListener methods](https://fous.com/methods/courtlistener.com.md)