legal

GET /v1/legal/search/

Changed on

Search legal documents by document type, or across all document types using keywords, parameter values and ranges. This endpoint uses opensearch-dsl pagination.For pagination, use both from_hit and hits_returned parameters. from_hit defines the offset from the first result you want to fetch. hits_returned allows you to configure the maximum results to be returned. By default from_hit = 0 and hits_returned = 20, endpoint will return the first 20 documents (i.e. 0 to 19). if set from_hit = 20 and hits_returned = 20, endpoint will return documents range from 21 to 40 (i.e. 20 to 39). The maximum value of hits_returned is 200.

Request

  • Base URL
    https://api.open.fec.gov (the document declares no server; this is the origin it was published from)
  • Auth
    API key in header X-Api-Key and API key in query parameter api_key and API key in query parameter api_key
  • TypeScript
    A function with typed inputs. Its response is checked against the schema.

Query parameters

qstring

Search field to find documents containing a word or phrase in their text.

from_hitinteger

Get results starting from this index

hits_returnedinteger

Number of results to return. The default value is 20, with a maximum limit of 200 results per page

type'' | 'admin_fines' | 'adrs' | 'advisory_opinions' | 'murs' | 'statutes'

Choose a legal document type: advisory_opinions, murs, admin_fines, statutes, or adrs

ao_nostring[]

Advisory opinion number

ao_yearinteger

Advisory opinion year

ao_namestring[]

Advisory opinion name

ao_min_issue_datestring

Earliest issue date of advisory opinion

ao_max_issue_datestring

Latest issue date of advisory opinion

ao_min_request_datestring

Earliest request date of advisory opinion

ao_max_request_datestring

Latest request date of advisory opinion

ao_min_document_datestring

Selects all advisory opinion documents dated on or after this date. Date must be formatted as MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD."

ao_max_document_datestring

Selects all advisory opinion documents dated on or before this date. Date must be formatted as MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD."

ao_doc_category_idstring[]

Category of the document F - Final Opinion V - Votes D - Draft Documents R - AO Request, Supplemental Material, and Extensions of Time W - Withdrawal of Request C - Comments and Ex parte Communications S - Commissioner Statements

ao_is_pendingboolean

AO is pending

ao_statusstring

Status of AO (pending, withdrawn, or final)

ao_requestorstring

The requestor of the advisory opinion

ao_requestor_typestring[]

Code of the advisory opinion requestor type. Select one or more codes to filter by advisory opinion requestor type: - 1 - Federal candidate/candidate committee/officeholder - 2 - Publicly funded candidates/committees - 3 - Party committee, national - 4 - Party committee, state or local - 5 - Nonconnected political committee - 6 - Separate segregated fun - 7 - Labor Organization - 8 - Trade Association - 9 - Membership Organization, Cooperative, Corporation W/O Capital Stocks - 10 - Corporation (including LLCs electing corporate status) - 11 - Partnership (including LLCs electing partnership status) - 12 - Governmental entity - 13 - Research/Public Interest/Educational Institution - 14 - Law Firm - 15 - Individual - 16 - Other

ao_regulatory_citationstring[]

Regulatory citations

ao_statutory_citationstring[]

Statutory citations

ao_citation_require_allboolean

Require all citations to be in document (default behavior is any)

ao_commenterstring

Name of commenter

ao_representativestring

Name of representative

case_nostring[]

Enforcement matter case number

case_respondentsstring

Cases respondents

case_election_cyclesinteger

Cases election cycles

case_min_open_datestring

The earliest date opened of case

primary_subject_idstring[]

Primary Subject Description: - 1 - Allocation - 2 - Committees - 3 - Contributions - 4 - Disclaimer - 5 - Disbursements - 6 - Electioneering - 7 - Expenditures - 8 - Express Advocacy - 9 - Foreign Nationals - 10 - Fraudulent misrepresentation - 11 - Issue Advocacy - 12 - Knowing and Willful - 13 - Loans - 14 - Non-federal - 15 - Other - 16 - Personal use - 17 - Presidential - 18 - Reporting - 19 - Soft Money - 20 - Solicitation

secondary_subject_idstring[]

Secondary Subject Description: - 1 - Candidate - 2 - Multi-candidate - 3 - Non-party - 4 - PAC - 5 - Party - 6 - Political - 7 - Presidential - 8 - Corporations - 9 - Excessive - 10 - Exemptions - 11 - In the name of another - 12 - Labor unions - 13 - Limitations - 14 - National bank - 15 - Prohibited - 16 - Coordinated - 17 - Limits - 18 - Prohibitions

case_max_open_datestring

The latest date opened of case

case_min_close_datestring

The earliest date closed of case

case_max_close_datestring

The latest date closed of case

case_min_document_datestring

Selects all case documents dated on or after this date. Date must be formatted as MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD."

case_max_document_datestring

Selects all case documents dated on or before this date. Date must be formatted as MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD."

case_regulatory_citationstring[]

Regulatory citations

case_statutory_citationstring[]

Statutory citations

case_citation_require_allboolean

Require all citations to be in document (default behavior is any)

q_excludestring

Exclude documents containing this term

case_doc_category_idstring[]

Select one or more case document category id to filter by corresponding case document category: - 1 - Conciliation and Settlement Agreements - 2 - Complaint, Responses, Designation of Counsel and Extensions of Time - 3 - General Counsel Reports, Briefs, Notifications and Responses - 4 - Certifications - 5 - Civil Penalties, Disgorgements, Other Payments and Letters of Compliance - 6 - Statement of Reasons - 1001 - ADR Settlement Agreements - 1002 - Complaint, Responses, Designation of Counsel and Extensions of Time - 1003 - ADR Memoranda, Notifications and Responses - 1004 - Certifications - 1005 - Civil Penalties, Disgorgements, Other Payments and Letters of Compliance - 1006 - Statement of Reasons - 2001 - Administrative Fine Case

mur_type'' | 'archived' | 'current'

Type of MUR : current or archived

mur_disposition_category_idstring[]

Select one or more MUR disposition category id to filter by corresponding MUR disposition category: - 1 - Conciliation: Pre Probable Cause - 2 - Conciliation: Probable Cause - 3 - Dismiss with Caution - 4 - Dismissed-All - 5 - Dismissed-Low Rated - 6 - Dismissed-Other - 7 - Dismissed-Stale - 8 - Dismiss Pursuant to Prosecutorial Discretion - 9 - No Probable Cause to Believe - 10 - No Reason to Believe - 11 - Probable Cause to Believe Finding - 12 - Probable Cause to Believe Finding/No Further Action - 13 - Reason to Believe Finding - 14 - Reason to Believe Finding/No Further Action - 15 - Take No Action - 16 - Take No Further Action

af_namestring[]

Admin fine committee name

af_committee_idstring

Admin fine committee ID

af_report_yearstring

Admin fine report year

af_min_rtb_datestring

The earliest Reason to Believe date

af_max_rtb_datestring

The latest Reason to Believe date

af_rtb_fine_amountinteger

Reason to Believe fine amount

af_min_fd_datestring

The earliest Final Determination date

af_max_fd_datestring

The latest Final Determination date

af_fd_fine_amountinteger

Final Determination fine amount

sortstring

Sort cases (MUR, ADR, and AF) by case_no. Sort advisory opinions by ao_no or issue_date. Use - before a parameter name to sort in descending order. ex: -case_no or -ao_no

case_min_penalty_amountstring

Show cases with a penalty greater than this amount

case_max_penalty_amountstring

Show cases with a penalty less than this amount

q_proximitystring[]

This search identifies documents where the specified phrases appear near each other. The field supports both a single phrase or multiple phrases. For a single phrase, the maximum gap is applied between the words in the phrase. For multiple phrases, the maximum gap is applied between the phrases themselves.

max_gapsinteger

The maximum number of positions allowed between terms specified in q_proximity

proximity_preserve_orderboolean

When set to true, maintains the original order of phrases in q_proximity.

proximity_filter'after' | 'before'

Adds additional filters to the proximity search that provides options to specify positional constraints

proximity_filter_termstring

Specifies the term to which the proximity_filter option applies to and defines what must appear in relation to the q_proximity phrase

filenamestring

Search documents by file name

api_keystring

Response

Legal search results

total_admin_finesinteger

Total number of Admin Fines matching the search criteria

total_adrsinteger

Total number of ADRs matching the search criteria

total_advisory_opinionsinteger

Total number of Advisory Opinions matching the search criteria

total_allinteger

Total number of legal documents matching the search criteria

total_mursinteger

Total number of MURs matching the search criteria

total_statutesinteger

Total number of Statutes matching the search criteria

Example response

{
  "admin_fines": [],
  "adrs": [],
  "advisory_opinions": [
    {
      "ao_citations": [
        {
          "name": "Dart & Kraft",
          "no": "1986-42"
        }
      ],
      "aos_cited_by": [
        {
          "name": "Service Corporation Employees' Political Action Committee",
          "no": "2014-11"
        }
      ],
      "commenter_names": [],
      "document_highlights": {
        "1": [
          "officer's willful theft, \n\n<em>embezzlement</em> or act of comparable"
        ]
      },
      "documents": [
        {
          "category": "Draft Documents",
          "date": "2012-06-18T00:00:00",
          "description": "Draft AO, Agenda Document",
          "document_id": 1234,
          "url": "/files/legal/some_number.pdf"
        }
      ],
      "entities": [
        {
          "name": "Keane, Benjamin",
          "role": "Counsel/Representative",
          "type": "Individual"
        },
        {
          "name": "Primerica, Inc.",
          "role": "Requestor",
          "type": "Corporation (including LLCs electing corporate status)"
        }
      ],
      "highlights": [
        "officer's willful theft, \n\n<em>embezzlement</em> or act of comparable"
      ],
      "is_pending": false,
      "issue_date": "2012-06-21",
      "name": "Primerica, Inc.",
      "no": "2012-21",
      "regulatory_citations": [
        {
          "part": 100,
          "section": 5,
          "title": 11
        },
        {
          "part": 110,
          "section": 3,
          "title": 11
        }
      ],
      "representative_names": [
        "Doe, John"
      ],
      "request_date": "2012-05-14",
      "requestor_names": [
        "Acme, Inc."
      ],
      "requestor_types": [
        "Law Firm",
        "Corporation (including LLCs electing corporate status)"
      ],
      "status": "Final",
      "statutory_citations": [
        {
          "section": "30108",
          "title": 52
        },
        {
          "section": "30116",
          "title": 52
        }
      ],
      "summary": "Disaffiliation of corporations and their SSFs."
    }
  ],
  "murs": [
    {
      "close_date": "2018-03-01T00:00:00",
      "commission_votes": [
        {
          "action": "\nThe Commission decided by a vote of 4-0 to take the following actions in MUR 7132:\n1.  Accept the conciliation agreement with Michael David Pitts, as recommended in the Memorandum to the Commission\ndated February 14, 2018.\n2.  Approve the appropriate letter.\n3.  Close the file.\n",
          "vote_date": "2018-03-01T00:00:00"
        },
        {
          "action": "\nThe Commission decided by a vote of 4-1 to take the following actions in \nPre-MUR 596 and MUR 7132:\n1. Transfer Pre-MUR 596 to the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution.\n2. Find reason to believe that Michael David Pitts knowingly and willfully violated 52 U.S.C. § 30102(b)(3) and\n11 C.F.R. § 102.15.\n3. Enter into pre-probable cause conciliation with Michael David Pitts prior to a finding of probable cause to believe.\n4. Approve the Conciliation Agreement for Michael David Pitts, as recommended in the First General Counsel’s Report\ndated March 6, 2017.\n5. Approve the Factual and Legal Analysis for Michael David Pitts, as recommended in the First General Counsel’s\nReport dated March 6, 2017.\n6. Approve the appropriate letter.\n",
          "vote_date": "2017-05-10T00:00:00"
        }
      ],
      "dispositions": [
        {
          "citations": [
            {
              "text": "30102(b)(3)",
              "title": "52",
              "type": "statute",
              "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/52/30102"
            },
            {
              "text": "102.15",
              "title": "11",
              "type": "regulation",
              "url": "/regulations/102-15/CURRENT"
            }
          ],
          "disposition": "Approved by Commission",
          "penalty": null,
          "respondent": "Pitts, Michael David"
        },
        {
          "citations": [
            {
              "text": "30102(b)(3)",
              "title": "52",
              "type": "statute",
              "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/52/30102"
            },
            {
              "text": "102.15",
              "title": "11",
              "type": "regulation",
              "url": "/regulations/102-15/CURRENT"
            }
          ],
          "disposition": "Approved Recs.",
          "penalty": null,
          "respondent": "Pitts, Michael David"
        }
      ],
      "doc_id": "mur_7132",
      "document_highlights": {},
      "documents": [
        {
          "category": "Conciliation Agreements",
          "description": "Michael David Pitts",
          "document_date": "2018-03-19T00:00:00",
          "document_id": 100488383,
          "length": 181804,
          "url": "/files/legal/murs/7132/18044440286.pdf"
        },
        {
          "category": "Complaint, Responses, Designation of Counsel and Extensions of Time",
          "description": "Consent to Extend the Time to Institute a Civil Law Enforcement Suit",
          "document_date": "2017-06-12T00:00:00",
          "document_id": 100488382,
          "length": 36491,
          "url": "/files/legal/murs/7132/18044440271.pdf"
        }
      ],
      "election_cycles": [
        2014
      ],
      "highlights": [
        " to carry out his  <em>embezzlement</em> scheme.  ",
        "  is prohibited by law.  6. Pitts sought  to conceal the  <em>embezzlement</em> by under",
        "  execute  his various  <em>embezzlements</em>. That  month, Mr.  Pitts also  transferred",
        " that  was used to carry out his  <em>embezzlement</em> scheme.  Pitts also  did not  ",
        " the  <em>embezzlement</em> by under-reporting the  transfer of payroll  deductions from"
      ],
      "mur_type": "current",
      "name": "MICHAEL DAVID PITTS",
      "no": "7132",
      "open_date": "2016-09-01T00:00:00",
      "participants": [
        {
          "citations": {},
          "name": "Pitts, Michael David",
          "role": "Primary Respondent"
        },
        {
          "citations": {},
          "name": "AMEDISYS, INC.",
          "role": "Complainant"
        }
      ],
      "respondents": [
        "Pitts, Michael David",
        "Evergreen Incentives LLC"
      ],
      "subjects": [
        "Committees-Candidate",
        "Other"
      ],
      "url": "/legal/matter-under-review/7132/"
    }
  ],
  "statutes": [],
  "total_admin_fines": null,
  "total_adrs": null,
  "total_advisory_opinions": 1,
  "total_all": 3,
  "total_murs": 2,
  "total_statutes": 0
}

Changes