Trellis

Search U.S. state trial court dockets, rulings, verdicts and judge analytics.

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What the Trellis connector does

The Trellis MCP server connects the largest U.S. state trial court dataset — dockets, filings, rulings, verdicts, judges, attorneys and expert witnesses — to Claude, ChatGPT and any MCP client. Anthropic's directory lists 24 tools, all of them reads. Sign-in is OAuth 2.0 with a single mcp scope, verified live against the server's own descriptor.

Verified connector

Listed by Anthropic as a partner connector in its Connectors Directory.

Connection checked by Agentman on .

Anthropic states this reflects the level of review a connector received, not a security audit.

Trellis tools (24)

  • get_server_instructions
  • list_skills
  • get_skill
  • Search-get_server_instructions
  • Analytics-get_server_instructions
  • Search-search_cases
  • Search-get_case
  • Search-get_case_complaints
  • Search-search_documents
  • Search-get_document
  • Search-search_rulings
  • Search-get_ruling
  • Search-search_verdicts
  • Search-search_judges
  • Search-get_judge_profile
  • Search-search_experts
  • Search-get_specialties
  • Search-get_matter_types
  • Search-search_parties
  • Search-search_attorneys
  • Analytics-get_judge_analytics
  • Analytics-get_lawfirm_analytics
  • Analytics-get_verdict_stats
  • Analytics-get_verdict_stats_by_attorney

Tool names from Anthropic's directory listing. This server requires sign-in, so we could not read tool descriptions or parameter schemas.

Limits

  • The general terms prohibit automated access. Trellis's terms of service permit use "only via manually conducted, discrete, individual search and retrieval activities conducted by a human", and have not been amended since May 28, 2022 to carve out the connector. The connector is Trellis's own OAuth-gated product, so this reads as an un-updated clause rather than a trap — but it is the governing document, and anyone with a compliance obligation should get it in writing.
  • Eligibility decisions are forbidden. No employment, credit, insurance, or government license or benefit determination may be based on this data.
  • Ruling search may be California-only. Trellis documents the rulings search tool as covering CA tentative rulings while Anthropic's listing gives it an unqualified name. Docket coverage spans 44 states; ruling-text coverage may not.
  • Complaint text coverage is patchy by design. Trellis states dockets are often added before complaint documents are available, so case metadata can exist with no complaint text, and that not all courts publish complaints at all.
  • One OAuth scope means no permission boundary. The resource descriptor advertises mcp and nothing else. There is no way to grant a narrower session.
  • We could not read tool schemas or safety annotations. Cloudflare blocks anonymous requests to the endpoint, so no parameter-level detail or readOnlyHint value is published here.
  • Six states are absent entirely, and so are the federal courts. The published coverage table omits Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Utah and Wyoming. Trellis's REST API advertises federal and PACER data; the MCP tool listing does not.
  • The free tier limit is unpublished. Trellis states free-account users can use the connector "up to a defined limit" without saying what it is, then are asked to subscribe at the published Lawyer Entry plus Judge Analytics price.
  • Trellis does not control your AI client's privacy settings. Trellis states model training preferences, data retention and conversation privacy are governed entirely by the AI vendor and configured in your account there — which is where court records containing third parties' personal data will actually come to rest.
  • A second, unrelated "Trellis" is listed in the same directory. A community-tier entry named Trellis points at trellisapp.co.uk and is a different company. So is runtrellis.com. Confirm the endpoint host is mcp.trellis.law before connecting.

Frequently asked questions

Can the Trellis MCP connector write to or change anything?

No. Every one of the 24 listed tools reads. Trellis states in its own technical documentation that no tools create, modify, or delete data, and no name in the listing carries a create, update, delete or purchase verb. The connector is a research surface, so the blast radius of a bad agent decision is a wrong answer rather than a changed record.

Does Trellis allow AI agents to use its court data?

Its published terms neither permit nor forbid it. The Trellis terms of service carry no artificial intelligence, machine learning or model training clause in either direction. They do prohibit use via programmatic, robotic, scripted or automated means, and prohibit commercial resale or redistribution. The MCP connector is Trellis's own product, so treat the connector as the sanctioned path.

What personal data can the Trellis connector read?

Named litigants, judges, attorneys and experts, plus the full text of their filings. Trellis defines personally identifiable information as including name, address, date of birth and Social Security numbers, and states such information is contained in public records. Complaints and rulings retrieved through the connector carry the parties' real names into your agent's context.

Do Trellis MCP tools cost money per call?

No individual tool purchases a document. Trellis charges for documents only where the county charges for access, and that purchase runs through a web pop-up with a confirm button, not through any listed tool. No tool name carries a purchase verb. A free Trellis account can use the connector up to an undisclosed limit before a subscription prompt appears.

Which U.S. states does the Trellis MCP server cover?

Forty-four states plus the District of Columbia, at county granularity. Trellis publishes a per-state county count in its MCP technical documentation, ranging from one county in DC and two in Nevada to 264 in Texas and 157 in Georgia. Six states are absent: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Utah and Wyoming.

Why does the Trellis MCP endpoint return 403 to an anonymous request?

Because Cloudflare blocks the client before the MCP server sees it. The response is an HTML Attention Required page naming a Cloudflare Ray ID, not an authentication challenge. The server's real posture is visible elsewhere: its OAuth descriptor is served correctly and its registration endpoint returns a JSON 401 naming a missing bearer token.

Can I use the Trellis connector to vet an expert witness or screen a candidate?

Expert vetting yes, employment screening no. Trellis ships tools for searching experts and profiling attorneys. But its terms bar using the information to determine an individual consumer's eligibility for employment, for credit or insurance, or for a government license or benefit, referencing the Fair Credit Reporting Act definition of consumer.

Does the Trellis tool list match what Trellis documents?

Almost, with one rename worth knowing. Anthropic lists 24 tools and Trellis documents 23, sharing 22. Trellis documents a California-only rulings search where the directory lists a generic rulings search, so the documented name carries a jurisdictional limit the listed name hides. The directory also lists an attorney search Trellis omits.

Sources

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