Field guide
How to get an AI summary of a court case
Verified against the live portal — 23 Jul 2026Open any case on CourtWatch and the Case Intelligence panel offers three readings. Position is free and instant — the case's trajectory derived from the hearing record, no AI involved. Summary is an AI digest of the court's own orders — one credit unlocks that case for you permanently, and updates after new orders are free. Strategy turns the file into a brief argued from your side, using one research brief. Free accounts get two Summary unlocks to try.
A court file answers slowly. The record knows what stage the matter is at, how it has been moving, and what the last order actually directed — but extracting that means reading hearings and orders one by one. The case page on CourtWatch carries a Case Intelligence panel that does the reading at three depths, and each depth is priced honestly for what it is.
Position: the free reading
Position is not AI. It is the hearing record itself, arranged so it answers first questions: a one-line headline for where the matter stands, how many hearings it has seen across what span, the median gap between listings, the judge, and the trajectory — moving, drifting, or parked. Because it needs only the hearing record, it works everywhere hearings exist, including courts that publish no order text at all.
Position is free on every plan, on every case you open.
Summary: the orders, digested
Summary is AI-written from the court's own orders on the file — what was directed, what changed, what the record actually says. The pricing unit is the honest part: one credit unlocks that case for you permanently. Reading it again later costs nothing; when new orders arrive, updating the summary costs nothing. You are never re-charged for a case you have already unlocked.
Free and trial accounts have two unlocks to try the feature. Paid plans refresh monthly: Advocate 50 case unlocks, Advocate Pro 100, Firm 500.
Strategy: the brief from your side
Summary states the record; Strategy argues it. The Strategy tab turns the full case file into a research brief written from your side of the matter — grounds, weaknesses, what the record supports. It uses one research brief from your plan's quota, and the case must be tracked first, since a strategy is only as current as the file it reads.
FAQ
Is the AI case summary legal advice?
No. The summary reports what the record says — it is written from the orders on the file, it is not advice, and it may miss what isn't on the record. It is a reading of the file, not a lawyer's opinion on it.
Do I pay every time I open a summary?
No. One credit unlocks that case for you permanently — later views are free, and regenerating after new orders arrive is free too.
Why does my case say a summary is not possible?
Some courts publish hearing entries but not the order text itself. With no orders to read, there is nothing for a summary to be written from — the panel says so plainly instead of inventing one, and no credit is spent. Position remains available, because it needs only the hearing record.
Can I summarise a case I have not tracked?
Yes — Position and Summary work on a case straight from search results. Strategy is the exception: it needs the case tracked, so the brief argues from a file that keeps itself current.
Open a case you know and read its Position — it costs nothing on any plan.
Track your first case free