WORKSHOP: Increasing Access to Federal Court Data Workshop--Fall 2015

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

This project entails the convening of a workshop at the University of Pennsylvania Law School to discuss ways to increase access to federal court data for research use. Presently. such access is limited, very expensive or both. That is an important shortcoming given the important role that courts play in our economy and society. We cannot reliably assess the performance of our justice system, much less improve it, if we cannot adequately measure its performance in the first place. The workshop will bring together scholars with experience or demonstrated interest in using federal court data in empirical research, as well as organizational staff with experience in warehousing and studying court data. In several roundtable sessions, participants will discuss the logistical, scholarly, and any other practical challenges that must be faced to increase access to federal court data. They will then work together to develop concrete ideas for how to increase such access, taking into account the challenges just mentioned. It is hoped that these ideas will form the basis for future proposals or projects by participants, which will be directed at providing broader research access to court data.