Episode 72: Building Judiciary Trust Through Open Court Data

Proof Over Precedent

00:00 / 00:23:49

Cartoon depicting a princess in a tower holding a strip of paper revealing data ( in 1s and 0s) with a judge at the bottom of the tower cutting off access to the data with scissors — Image by Courtney Chrystal, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School

The seven-year-old Open Government Data Act has supported accessible, and useable, data from federal agencies, but it did not extend to the judiciary. This week’s Proof Over Precedent episode discusses the massive amounts of data in federal, and particularly state, courts that serve as a missed opportunity to provide transparency, notice court trends, and foster collaboration, all in the name of building public trust.

Read the corresponding blog post.

Speakers:

Sydney Nelson, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School
Elizabeth Guo, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School

Resources mentioned:

PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records)
Open Data
The OPEN Government Data Act
The Open Courts Act of 2021
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (2026) by Matthew Desmond
Eviction Lab

Share feedback and relevant topics you would like the A2J Lab to discuss: [email protected]

Stay connected with the Access to Justice Lab:

Support the A2J

Proof Over Precedent cover art by Courtney Chrystal