ParserAppealsAL CLI Reference

Complete command-line reference for the Alabama Appeals Court parser.

Overview

ParserAppealsAL is the specialized parser for extracting case data from the Alabama Appeals Court Public Portal. It's accessed through the main OPAL CLI using --parser ParserAppealsAL.

Quick Start

# Basic court case extraction
python -m opal \
    --url "https://publicportal.alappeals.gov/portal/search/case/results" \
    --parser ParserAppealsAL \
    --output my_cases.json

Command Syntax

python -m opal --url <COURT_URL> --parser ParserAppealsAL [OPTIONS]

Required Arguments

--url <URL>

The Alabama Appeals Court portal URL to scrape.

Supported URL Types: - Search results pages with case listings - Individual case detail pages - Paginated search results

Examples:

--url "https://publicportal.alappeals.gov/portal/search/case/results"
--url "https://publicportal.alappeals.gov/portal/search/case/results?criteria=..."

--parser ParserAppealsAL

Specifies to use the ParserAppealsAL court parser.

Must be exactly: ParserAppealsAL

Optional Arguments

--output <FILENAME>

Specify the output JSON file path.

Default: opal_output.json

Examples:

--output court_cases.json
--output /path/to/appeals_data.json
--output "cases_$(date +%Y%m%d).json"

--max_pages <NUMBER>

Limit the number of pages to process from paginated results.

Default: 5
Range: 1 or higher

Examples:

--max_pages 1      # Process only first page
--max_pages 10     # Process up to 10 pages
--max_pages 50     # Process up to 50 pages

--log-level <LEVEL>

Set the logging verbosity level.

Default: INFO
Options: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR

Examples:

--log-level DEBUG    # Detailed progress information
--log-level INFO     # Standard progress updates
--log-level WARNING  # Only warnings and errors
--log-level ERROR    # Only error messages

Complete Examples

Basic Extraction

# Extract court cases with default settings
python -m opal \
    --url "https://publicportal.alappeals.gov/portal/search/case/results" \
    --parser ParserAppealsAL

Custom Output File

# Save to specific file
python -m opal \
    --url "https://publicportal.alappeals.gov/portal/search/case/results" \
    --parser ParserAppealsAL \
    --output alabama_appeals_2024.json

Limited Page Processing

# Process only first 3 pages for faster results
python -m opal \
    --url "https://publicportal.alappeals.gov/portal/search/case/results" \
    --parser ParserAppealsAL \
    --max_pages 3 \
    --output quick_sample.json

Debug Mode

# Enable detailed logging to monitor progress
python -m opal \
    --url "https://publicportal.alappeals.gov/portal/search/case/results" \
    --parser ParserAppealsAL \
    --log-level DEBUG \
    --output debug_cases.json

Production Extraction

# Extract with timestamp in filename
python -m opal \
    --url "https://publicportal.alappeals.gov/portal/search/case/results" \
    --parser ParserAppealsAL \
    --max_pages 20 \
    --output "court_cases_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).json" \
    --log-level INFO

Output Structure

The parser generates JSON output with this structure:

{
  "cases": [
    {
      "court": "Alabama Civil Court of Appeals",
      "case_number": {
        "text": "CL-2024-0123",
        "link": "/portal/case/detail/12345"
      },
      "case_title": "Smith v. Jones Corporation",
      "classification": "Appeal",
      "filed_date": "01/15/2024",
      "status": "Open"
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "extraction_date": "2024-01-20",
    "extraction_time": "14:30:22", 
    "total_cases": 156,
    "pages_processed": 7,
    "parser": "ParserAppealsAL",
    "source_url": "https://publicportal.alappeals.gov/..."
  }
}

Field Descriptions

Case Fields: - court: Which Appeals Court handled the case - case_number.text: The case identifier (e.g., "CL-2024-0123") - case_number.link: Relative URL to case details page - case_title: Full case title/name - classification: Type of case (Appeal, Certiorari, etc.) - filed_date: Date case was filed (MM/DD/YYYY format) - status: Current case status (Open, Closed, etc.)

Metadata Fields: - extraction_date: Date of extraction (YYYY-MM-DD) - extraction_time: Time of extraction (HH:MM:SS) - total_cases: Number of cases extracted - pages_processed: Number of pages processed - parser: Parser used (always "ParserAppealsAL") - source_url: Original URL scraped

Working with Results

View Case Count

# Extract and show total cases
python -m opal --url "..." --parser ParserAppealsAL --output cases.json
cat cases.json | jq '.metadata.total_cases'

Extract Specific Fields

# Get just case numbers
cat cases.json | jq '.cases[].case_number.text'

# Get case titles
cat cases.json | jq '.cases[].case_title'

# Get cases by status
cat cases.json | jq '.cases[] | select(.status == "Open")'

Convert to CSV

# Basic CSV conversion
cat cases.json | jq -r '.cases[] | [.case_number.text, .case_title, .status, .filed_date] | @csv'

# CSV with headers
echo "Case Number,Title,Status,Filed Date" > cases.csv
cat cases.json | jq -r '.cases[] | [.case_number.text, .case_title, .status, .filed_date] | @csv' >> cases.csv

Performance Considerations

Processing Speed

• Typical rate: 1-2 pages per minute
• Factors: Network speed, page complexity, rate limiting
• Recommendation: Use --max_pages for initial testing

Memory Usage

• Low memory: Processes pages sequentially
• Scalable: Can handle large result sets
• Storage: JSON output size varies by case count

Rate Limiting

• Built-in delays: 3-second delays between requests
• Respectful: Designed not to overwhelm the server
• Adjustable: Modify in source code if needed

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"No cases found"

Cause: URL doesn't contain case listings
Solution: Verify URL shows cases in browser first

"WebDriver error"

Cause: Chrome browser not installed or outdated
Solution: Install/update Chrome browser

"Connection timeout"

Cause: Network issues or server problems
Solution: Check internet connection, try again later

"Permission denied writing output"

Cause: No write access to output directory
Solution: Use different output path or fix permissions

Debug Steps

1. Test URL in browser: Verify cases are visible
2. Enable debug logging: Use --log-level DEBUG
3. Limit pages: Use --max_pages 1 for testing
4. Check output: Verify JSON file is created and valid

Getting Help

If issues persist: 1. Check the Error Handling Guide 2. Review Troubleshooting Documentation 3. Enable debug logging to see detailed error messages

Advanced Usage

For more sophisticated court case extraction with search parameters, filtering, and automation, see:

• Configurable Court Extractor: Advanced search parameters
• Command Line Tools: Complete CLI reference
• API Reference: Programmatic usage

Comparison with Alternatives

Feature	Basic CLI (--parser ParserAppealsAL)	Configurable Extractor
Search filters	❌ None	✅ Date, category, court, case number
Output formats	JSON only	JSON + CSV
Multiple courts	Single URL only	All courts in one command
Automation	Manual URLs	Parameterized searches
Complexity	Simple	Advanced

Recommendation: Use basic CLI for simple extractions, Configurable Extractor for advanced needs.