What is a felony docket?
Asked by: Dr. Jennings Grimes | Last update: February 18, 2026Score: 5/5 (7 votes)
A felony docket is a court's schedule or list of serious criminal cases (felonies like murder, robbery) awaiting judicial action, functioning as a log of proceedings, status updates, and future events, often handled in sessions called "Docket Calls" where attorneys discuss plea deals, set trial dates, or resolve other administrative issues before a full jury trial. It's essentially the formal agenda for felony cases moving through the court system.
What is a felony docket call?
The docket (court calendar) is a list of all of the proceedings that are scheduled on a court's agenda and may also note the status of the case and whatever action is required on the case. 3. Docket (docket call) is a court session during which attorneys (sometimes parties) report on the status of their cases.
What is the purpose of a docket?
A docket is the official, chronological record of all proceedings, filings, and events in a court case, used by courts, lawyers, and the public to track a case's history, including party names, motions, orders, deadlines, and documents like complaints and briefs. It acts as a comprehensive case summary, ensuring accountability and transparency, and helps manage court schedules and case status, often accessed digitally through systems like PACER for federal cases.
What is the difference between a docket and a case?
A case is the entire legal dispute itself (the lawsuit or criminal matter), while a docket is the court's official, chronological log or file of that case, containing brief entries about all proceedings, filings (like motions, briefs, evidence), and events that happen within it, identified by a unique docket number. Think of the case as the story and the docket as the detailed timeline or index card for that story at a specific court.
What happens after a case is docketed?
After a case is docketed (officially recorded), it gets a unique number and is placed on the court's calendar, leading to procedural steps like initial hearings, attorney appearances, discovery, motions, and setting trial or plea dates, with the overall goal of resolving the case through trial, settlement, or dismissal, eventually resulting in a judgment if won. The specific next steps depend on whether it's civil or criminal, but generally involve the judge managing the case's progression.
What is a Court Docket?
Can charges be dropped at a docket sounding?
Yes. It is possible for a case to be dismissed at the pretrial hearing. During the hearing, the judge will likely issue a decision regarding any pretrial motions to dismiss the case. Thus, if those motions are successful, your case may be dismissed at the pretrial.
What does your docket mean?
N. 1 An abstract or brief written entry in a court record or a book in which brief entries of acts done in court are made. 2 An agenda for the cases about to appear before the court. Hence, to say that a court has a full docket usually means that it is booked to hear many cases.
What does a criminal docket mean?
A docket is a "formal record in which a judge or court clerk briefly notes all the proceedings and filings in a court case." Source: Black's Law Dictionary, 12th ed. by Bryan A. Garner (Editor)) After a case is filed, the court assigns it a docket number, which is the court's case number or tracking number.
What are the three types of cases?
The three main types of legal cases are criminal, civil, and bankruptcy, with criminal cases further divided into infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies, while civil cases cover disputes like personal injury or contract issues. Other categorizations exist, such as crimes against persons, property, or society, or federal court case types like federal question or diversity of citizenship cases.
What is another name for a docket?
Definitions of docket. noun. a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to. synonyms: agenda, schedule.
Why is docket important?
Dockets contain information about the judge hearing the case, parties involved, attorneys involved, the events of a case, and more. Dockets are generally more useful for researching trials. Because trials may last many years, and involve many events the dockets are important for locating information about cases.
Can I remove my name from a docket?
Only a court order sealing the record will remove a court record from the public record. To learn more about how to seal court documents, please see FAQs below.
Do you go straight to jail for a felony?
No, you don't always go straight to jail for a felony; it depends on the crime's severity, your criminal history, and the judge's discretion, with outcomes ranging from probation and fines to prison, though serious felonies often lead to incarceration, especially for repeat offenders. Many first-time or non-violent felony offenders receive probation, community supervision, or alternative sentences instead of immediate jail time, but if imprisonment is part of the sentence, you're taken into custody immediately after sentencing.
What is the most common felony charge?
The most common felonies often involve drug offenses (possession/distribution), property crimes (theft, burglary), and DUI/DWI, though this varies by state; however, drug-related offenses consistently rank high, frequently comprising a large portion of total felony charges due to varying state laws on possession, trafficking, and sale. Property crimes like grand larceny and burglary also represent a significant chunk of felony cases, alongside aggravated assaults.
What is the hardest case to win in court?
The hardest cases to win in court often involve high emotional stakes, like crimes against children or sexual assault, where jurors struggle with bias; complex, voluminous evidence, such as white-collar fraud; and defenses that challenge societal norms, like an insanity plea, which faces high scrutiny and conflicting expert testimony. Cases with weak physical evidence, uncooperative witnesses (like in sex crimes), or those involving unpopular defendants (e.g., child abusers) are particularly challenging for defense attorneys.
What is the most common case in court?
Five Most Common Case Types
- 1) Contract Disputes. Contract disputes occur when one or more parties, typically in a business context, are unable to fulfill their contractual obligations for various reasons. ...
- 2) Torts. ...
- 3) Class Action. ...
- 4) Complaints Against The City. ...
- 5) Property Disputes.
Does a judge have more power than the president?
Federal laws, for example, are passed by Congress and signed by the President. The judicial branch, in turn, has the authority to decide the constitutionality of federal laws and resolve other cases involving federal laws. But judges depend upon the executive branch to enforce court decisions.
What are the two main types of cases that can be brought before the court?
Following cases can be directly brought before the Supreme Court:1. If there are disputes between the Union Government and a State Government or more than one State Government. 2. Cases concerning the violation of the Constitution by the Government or an individual.
What are the most serious criminal cases called?
A felony is the most serious type of crime. It carries the potential sentence of at least one year and one day in state prison. Different teams of prosecutors, victim advocates and legal support staff handle different types of crimes. In each case they seek justice for the victim and to preserve public safety.
What are docket charges?
A docket fee is a price charged by a court for placing a case on its docket or calendar.
What happens during a docket call?
Docket call is how the court begins the day. It's when the judge calls out the list of scheduled cases—also known as the “docket.” Each party (or their attorney) answers by stating their name and role for the record.
What is a docket used for?
A docket is a chronological record or summary of all proceedings, filings, and actions in a court case, used by courts, lawyers, and the public to track a case's history, status, and documents like motions, briefs, and orders. It acts as a table of contents, providing key details like party names, the judge, case number, and a log of every document filed and hearing held, helping to manage court calendars and understand case progression.
What does docketing mean in law?
Legal docketing is the tracking and management of deadlines and events related to legal work. It involves entering key dates, like hearings, filing deadlines, and other events, into a centralized system to ensure that they are not missed.
What does docketed status mean?
The docketed status means that the appeal has been officially placed in line to be reviewed by a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). Each appeal is assigned a docket number, which helps determine the order in which cases are reviewed.