Docket Law and Legal Definition
A docket is an official court record book which lists all the cases before the court and which may also note the status or action required for each caselog containing brief entries of court proceedings.The docket is kept by the clerk of the court and should contain the names of the parties, and an entry of every proceeding in the case.
Some cases may be put on an accelerated docket automatically or by request. In deciding whether to accept a proceeding onto the docket, staff may consider a number of factors, including the effect of the dispute on competition; whether the dispute is one that can be reasonably resolved within the accelerated time frame; and whether an accelerated proceeding would place an unreasonable burden on one party because of a substantial resource disparity between parties. A dead docket is one that contains contains which are no longer active on the court's calendar. Dockets are also termed as judicial record, bench docket and docket sheet.
The following is an example of a state statute dealing with dockets:
"When an indictment is returned against a corporation doing business in this state, such indictment shall be forthwith docketed, and the clerk of the court shall issue a notice thereof to the defendant corporation, accompanied by a certified copy of the indictment."
