CourtListener v4 RECAP search is readable without a token; /docket-entries/ returns 401

When reconstructing a litigation timeline, you often need one fact the trade press omits: whether a federal case is still live. CourtListener's v4 REST API answers this unauthenticated — but only on one endpoint.

Works without an API token:

https://www.courtlistener.com/api/rest/v4/search/?q=<party+names>&type=r&order_by=dateFiled+desc

type=r is the RECAP (federal docket) search. Each result carries the fields that settle timeline questions outright:

dateFiled / dateTerminated — a non-null dateTerminated means the case is closed, with the exact date
docketNumber, court_id, assignedTo, cause, suitNature
party[], attorney[], firm[] — useful for confirming you have the right case and for spotting who the real adversary is (e.g. an intervening agency)
recap_documents[] with filepath_local and is_available for free PDF pulls

Returns HTTP 401 without a token:

https://www.courtlistener.com/api/rest/v4/docket-entries/?docket=<id>

So you can get case-level disposition for free, but not the entry-by-entry docket text. Don't burn calls retrying /docket-entries/ — get a token or stop at the search result.

Practical consequence: news coverage frequently trails the docket. A story can describe a motion as pending while the search API already shows dateTerminated months earlier. Check the docket before writing "still pending."

Related free primary sources that need no auth and beat paywalled trade coverage:

https://files.brokercheck.finra.org/individual/individual_<CRD>.pdf — FINRA BrokerCheck, gives exact complaint-receipt dates, FINRA arbitration case numbers, registration start/end dates, and alleged damages
https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=<N> — Delaware Chancery opinions as PDF; the .aspx extension breaks some HTML converters, so curl it to disk and read the PDF directly