Will AI Ever Enter the Courtroom?

In 2017, U.S. state trial courts received a gastronomical 83 million court cases. The Chinese Civil Law system sees over 19 million cases per year, with only 120,000 judges to rule over them. In the OECD area (consisting of most high-income economies), the average length for civil proceedings is 240 days in the first instance; the final disposition of cases often involves a long process of appeals, which in some countries can go up to 7 years. It's no secret that the judiciary system in many countries is long, tedious, slow, and can cause months of misery, pain, and anxiety to individuals, families, corporations, and litigators. Moreover, when cases do see the light of day in court, the outcome is not always satisfactory, with high-profile cases especially receiving criticism for being plagued by judge biases' and personal preferences. Scholarly research suggests that in the United States, judges' personal backgrounds, professional experiences, life experiences, and partisan ideologies might impact their decision-making.