Academic

Bommarito, Katz, & Zelner on Network Representations of Supreme Court Decisions

By Lawrence Solum

Michael James Bommarito II , Daniel Martin Katz and Jon Zelner (University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Center for Study of Complex Systems , University of Michigan - Department of Political Science and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Center for Study of Complex Systems) have posted Law as a Seamless Web? Comparison of Various Network Representations of the United States Supreme Court Corpus (1791-2005) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Citation networks are a cornerstone of network research and have been important to the general development of network theory. Citation data have the advantage of constituting a well-defined set where the nature of nodes and edges is reasonably well specified. Much interesting and important work has been done in this vein, with respect to not only academic but also judicial citation networks. For example, previous scholarship focuses upon broad citation patterns, the evolution of precedent, and time-varying change in the likelihood that communities of cases will be cited. As research of judicial citation and semantic networks transitions from a strict focus on the structural characteristics of these networks to the evolutionary dynamics behind their growth, it becomes even more important to develop theoretically coherent and empirically grounded ideas about the nature of edges and nodes. In this paper, we move in this direction on several fronts. We compare several network representations of the corpus of United States Supreme Court decisions (1791-2005). This corpus is not only of seminal importance, but also represents a highly structured and largely self-contained body of case law. As constructed herein, nodes represent whole cases or individual 'opinion units' within cases. Edges represent either citations or semantic connections. As our broader goal is to better understand American common law development, we are particularly interested in the union, intersect and compliment of these various citation networks as they offer potential insight into the long-standing question of whether 'law is a seamless web'? We believe the characterization of law?s interconnectedness is an empirical question well suited to the tools of computer science and applied graph theory. While much work still remains, the analysis provided herein is designed to advance the broader cause.

At the cutting edge of network theory and law, this is a must read for anyone interested in positive legal theory in general and quantitative analysis of judicial decisions in particular. Highly recommended.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on June 22, 2009 (boomark / email).