AI Predicts Supreme Court Decisions Better Than Legal Scholars

Computers may add a level of accuracy that can impact impact lawyers' strategies in the future.

May 6, 2017 5:00 am
Justices of the United States Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court Justices, front row from left to right, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, John G. Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, along with back row from left to right, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Sameul Alito and Elena Kagan (Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States)

Many observers believe it’s hard to predict the decision-making of the nation’s highest court. But it turns it out it may just be that a better job for

A new study suggests artificial intelligence (AI) may allow the prediction of Supreme Court decisions with impressive accuracy, opening up the possibility of lawyers adjusting their strategies to create new models for potential results, according to Science Magazine.

Indeed, it appears computers can better predict Supreme Court decisions than legal scholars.

Studies have found that algorithms can predict both Supreme Court decisions and individual votes by justices accurately over 70 percent of the time. A 2004 study found legal experts were accurate only 66 percent of the time.

It is believed the algorithms will continue to improve as they process more data and the way they apply that data is refined.

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