Sorting

The PACER API supports sorting on many fields for both case and party searches. This tutorial explains how to apply sorting parameters using the pacersdk library.

Overview

Sorting is specified using a list of field and direction pairs, where each pair defines how to order the results. The sort order follows the sequence of the provided list–meaning earlier fields take precedence in the sort order.

You can sort on one or more fields using “ASC” for ascending and “DESC” for descending order.

Case Sorting Example

Here’s how to sort search results by case year (descending) and then by case type (ascending):

from pacersdk.client import PCLClient
from pacersdk.models.sort import SortableCaseField
from pacersdk.models.case import CaseSearchRequest

client = PCLClient(
    username="your_username",
    password="your_password",
    environment="qa"
)
request = CaseSearchRequest(jurisdictionType="civil")

sort_fields: list[SortableCaseField] = [
    {"field": "caseYear", "order": "DESC"},
    {"field": "caseType", "order": "ASC"},
]

response = client.search_cases(criteria=request, sort=sort_fields)
print(response)

Important Notes

• The sort order in the list matters. The API will prioritize sorting by the first field, then within that by the second, and so on.

• Sorting is optional. If not provided, default API sorting will apply.

• Invalid field names or directions will result in an API error.

For available sortable fields, see the library reference documentation for:

• pacersdk.models.sort.SortableCaseField

• pacersdk.models.sort.SortablePartyField