Which court docket would contain a Katie Johnson affidavit and how to search it?
Executive summary
The affidavit attributed to "Katie Johnson" would most likely appear on the federal district court docket for the Central District of California case styled Katie Johnson v. Donald J. Trump, case number 5:16‑cv‑00797 (C.D. Cal.), because that case’s complaint and supporting pleadings are publicly indexed there and in multiple archival repositories [1] [2]. A separate, later filing has been reported as having been brought in New York under a different pseudonym in media excerpts, so searches should include both the C.D. Cal. docket and any New York federal dockets or archival mirrors [3].
1. Which docket to check first: the Central District of California (5:16‑cv‑00797)
The primary, contemporaneous docket for filings by a plaintiff using the name Katie Johnson against Donald J. Trump is in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, filed as case no. 5:16‑cv‑00797 (often shown with judge initials DMG‑KS) and indexed in federal case databases [1] [2]. Multiple mirrors and document repositories host the complaint and related documents for that case, indicating the C.D. Cal. docket is the most direct place to look for an affidavit attached to the original complaint or subsequent filings [4] [5].
2. Why public dockets and archives are essential and where they live
The C.D. Cal. docket entries and PDF pleadings appear in archive sites and docket aggregators: the Federal Judicial Center/IDB entry and CourtListener list the citation and metadata for Katie Johnson v. Donald J. Trump, 5:16‑cv‑00797 (C.D. Cal.) [2] [6], while full-text mirrors and archived copies of Document 1 (the complaint) are available on Archive.org and other document hosts that have preserved the filing pages [1] [4]. Commercial services such as Law360 also maintain docket activity and can be searched for the same case number [7].
3. How to search the docket for the affidavit — step‑by‑step
Begin with PACER using the case number 5:16‑cv‑00797 or party name Katie Johnson to retrieve the C.D. Cal. docket and any PDFs filed under that case; federal dockets are authoritative there [2]. If PACER access is not available, use public mirrors: CourtListener’s docket for the case lists entries and links to documents collected by the Free Law Project [6], and Archive.org hosts a copy of the complaint and related pages that often reveal attachments and exhibits [1] [4]. For redundancy, check other aggregators such as PlainSite or commercial reporters like Law360 that index filings by case number and party [5] [7]. When searching, look specifically for documents labeled “Declaration,” “Affidavit,” “Exhibit,” or entries referencing “Document 1” (the initial complaint) which may contain sworn statements [1].
4. Don’t stop at C.D. Cal.: New York and anonymous‑witness affidavits
Reporting and a later book excerpt indicate a related or subsequent suit was filed in New York and included anonymous witness affidavits under pseudonyms (e.g., “Tiffany Doe,” “Joan Doe”) that accompanied a claim tied to the same alleged events; that suggests searching Southern District of New York dockets or other federal dockets in New York for any filings by the same plaintiff pseudonym or counsel [3]. However, the primary documented federal case number tied to the Katie Johnson name in the sources provided remains the C.D. Cal. 5:16‑cv‑00797 docket [1] [2]. The New York references in the book are secondary reporting and should be checked against court dockets directly for confirmation [3].
5. Caveats, verification and next research steps
Public aggregators can mismatch or lag official court systems, so cross‑verify any affidavit located on Archive.org, CourtListener, Scribd or Slideshare against the PACER/Court’s official docket to confirm authenticity and docket number [6] [1] [8] [9]. Some copies hosted on third‑party sites may omit pages or metadata; the Federal Judicial Center’s IDB and CourtListener provide stable citations useful for corroboration [2] [6]. If no affidavit is visible in the C.D. Cal. docket, expand searches to related dockets, press reporting footnotes, and commercial services that index later filings [7] [3].