A Case Information Statement (or Cover Sheet) is a document which is filed with a court clerk

Court clerk

A court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors...

 at the commencement of a civil

Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...

 lawsuit

Lawsuit

A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...

 in many of the court systems of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is generally filed along with the complaint

Complaint

In legal terminology, a complaint is a formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons that the filing party or parties In legal terminology, a complaint is a formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties In...

. Some states

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 use similar documents for criminal

Criminal law

Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...

 cases as well.

Purpose and terminology

The purpose of a Case Information Statement is to let the judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 and court clerk know what type of case is being brought by the parties, so that they can better prepare for the case to come to trial

Trial (law)

In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...

. Some courts (for example, the New Jersey Superior Court

New Jersey Superior Court

The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...

) put different types of cases on different "tracks", to place limits on how long discovery

Discovery (law)

In U.S.law, discovery is the pre-trial phase in a lawsuit in which each party, through the law of civil procedure, can obtain evidence from the opposing party by means of discovery devices including requests for answers to interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for...

 they should take.

If the lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 filling out the Case Information Statement makes a mistake, or if circumstances change or new information is discovered, the party

Party (law)

A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law. Parties include: plaintiff , defendant , petitioner , respondent , cross-complainant A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be...

 wishing to amend the statement may do so by making a motion

Motion (legal)

In law, a motion is a procedural device to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. A motion may be thought of as a request to the judge to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrative, criminal or civil proceedings, although that right is...

 to the judge in charge of the case.

Some courts use the term Cover Sheet for this document, but the content and purpose is the same. For example, the equivalent document in federal district courts is Form JS-44, Civil Cover Sheet. Similarly, the Superior Courts of California

Superior Courts of California

The Superior Courts of California are the superior courts in the U.S. state of California with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a government agency...

 have a Form CM-010, Civil Case Cover Sheet.

New York's Request for Judicial Intervention

New York's equivalent document is the Request for Judicial Intervention, which is necessary because in New York, a case begins with the service of a complaint and nothing is filed with the trial court until absolutely necessary (usually because a discovery dispute develops, someone wants to file a dispositive motion, or it is actually time for trial). At that time, the party seeking judicial intervention files a RJI (which asks for information similar to a CIS or cover sheet) and files with the court all relevant documents from the party's own version of the case file. The advantage to New York's system is that cases can theoretically settle informally without forcing the court to expend its scarce resources opening and maintaining a file for the case; the disadvantage is that cases can bumble along without judicial supervision and suddenly wander into court on the eve of trial, which in turn makes trial calendars unmanageable. Furthermore, rational parties usually attempt to settle before resorting to legal process, so it makes no sense for the judicial system to ignore already active cases. It is for these reasons that all other states and the federal government require plaintiffs to file a complaint and Case Information Statement/Cover Sheet to initiate a case, so that the courts can actively manage their caseloads.

Case Information Statements in civil cases

Questions typically asked on Civil Case Information Statements include:

• The underlying subject matter of the lawsuit
• Amount in controversy
  Amount in controversy
  Amount in controversy is a term used in United States civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular court must be suing for a certain minimum amount before that court may hear the...
  
   or remedies
  Legal remedy
  A legal remedy is the means with which a court of law, usually in the exercise of civil law jurisdiction, enforces a right, imposes a penalty, or makes some other court order to impose its will....
  
   demanded
• Whether a jury trial
  Jury trial
  A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
  
   is requested by either party
• Whether there are additional parties to be joined
  Joinder
  Joinder is a legal term, which refers to the process of joining two or more legal issues together to be heard in one hearing or trial. It is done when the issues or parties involved overlap sufficiently to make the process more efficient or more fair...
  
  
• Whether the lawsuit is a potential class action
  Class action
  In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
  
   or some other type of complex case
• Whether there are similar actions pending in other courts
• What, if any, previous relationship exists between/among the parties (e.g. employment
  Employment
  Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
  
  , familial
  Family
  In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
  
  , business
  Business
  A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
  
   associates, etc.)
• Whether attorney fees are in contention (in some types of cases, attorney fees must be paid by the losing party)

In family law

Family law

Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...

 cases (such as divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

 and child custody

Child custody

Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...

 matters), the questions asked on the Case Information Statement are often longer and more detailed, requiring recitation of each party's employment situation, current income

Income

Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...

, and the asset

Asset

In financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset...

s and liabilities

Legal liability

Legal liability is the legal bound obligation to pay debts.* In law a person is said to be legally liable when they are financially and legally responsible for something. Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law. See Strict liability. Under English law, with the passing of the Theft...

 of each party.

Case Information Statements in criminal cases

Questions typically asked on Criminal Case Information Statements include:

• The attorneys involved in the case
• The basic facts and circumstances involved
• Whether the defendant
  Defendant
  A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
  
   is currently in custody or out on bail
  Bail
  Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
  
  
• Whether there are co-defendants
• Whether all issues will be disposed of by this case
• Whether the constitutionality
  Constitutionality
  Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...
  
   of any statute
  Statute
  A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
  
  , regulation
  Regulation
  Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
  
  , or executive order is being challenged

External links

• State Links to Civil Cover Sheets - from the National Center for State Courts

Examples of case information statements

• Civil Case Information Statement, from the New Jersey Superior Court
  New Jersey Superior Court
  The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...
  
  
• Civil Case Information Statement, from the New Jersey Superior Court, Chancery Division, Family Part
• Criminal Case Information Statement, from the New Jersey Superior Court
• Civil Case Information Statement from the California Courts of Appeal
• Civil Case Information Statement from the Circuit Courts of West Virginia
  West Virginia
  West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
  
  .

Examples of civil cover sheets

• Form CM-010, Civil Case Cover Sheet from the Superior Courts of California
  Superior Courts of California
  The Superior Courts of California are the superior courts in the U.S. state of California with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a government agency...