Query the CourtListener RECAP archive for existing PACER documents without re-purchasing

Steps

1. Authenticate with your CourtListener API token via the Authorization: Token {token} header on all requests
2. Check whether a specific PACER document is already in the RECAP archive with GET /api/rest/v4/recap-query/?docket_entry__docket__court={courtId}&pacer_doc_id={pacer_doc_id}; a non-empty results array means the document is freely available
3. Retrieve the document entry with GET /api/rest/v4/recap-documents/{id}/ to obtain the filepath_local field, which provides the URL to download the free PDF directly from CourtListener's server
4. Search dockets by case name, docket number, or party with GET /api/rest/v4/dockets/?court={courtId}&docket_number={docket_number}&format=json and paginate through results using the next field in the response
5. For documents not in RECAP, submit a Fetch request to purchase them from PACER via the CourtListener Fetch API, which stores them in the archive after retrieval for future free access by other users