# courtlistener_get_opinion

Get the full text of a court opinion.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `courtlistener_get_opinion`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-get-opinion

## Facts

- Tool: `courtlistener_get_opinion`
- Server: Courtlistener (`defendthedisabled/courtlistener-mcp`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp.md
- Homepage: https://github.com/DefendTheDisabled/courtlistener-mcp
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade A, identity unverified
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 0
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "courtlistener_get_opinion",
    "arguments": {}
  }
}
```

## Why courtlistener_get_opinion is rated Low

This tool retrieves existing public court opinion documents without side effects. It performs a simple data fetch operation consistent with the Read category. The severity is low because CourtListener data is publicly available and reading it poses minimal risk to confidentiality, integrity, or availability.

From the tool's own definition: "Tool description states 'Get the full text of a court opinion' — a retrieval operation with no modification, deletion, or execution capability. All sibling tools on this server (list, search, get) are read-only queries against a public legal database."

## Use case

AI agents call courtlistener_get_opinion to retrieve information from Courtlistener without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Courtlistener:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "courtlistener_get_opinion": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on Courtlistener (11)

- `courtlistener_get_case` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-get-case.md
- `courtlistener_get_citing_cases` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-get-citing-cases.md
- `courtlistener_get_court_info` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-get-court-info.md
- `courtlistener_get_docket` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-get-docket.md
- `courtlistener_list_courts` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-list-courts.md
- `courtlistener_search_cases_hybrid` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-search-cases-hybrid.md
- `courtlistener_search_cases_keyword` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-search-cases-keyword.md
- `courtlistener_search_cases_semantic` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-search-cases-semantic.md
- `courtlistener_search_judges` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-search-judges.md
- `courtlistener_search_oral_arguments` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-search-oral-arguments.md
- `courtlistener_verify_citation` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp/courtlistener-verify-citation.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

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Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/defendthedisabled-courtlistener-mcp