MA 535 - Data Science in Law and Policy

In the legal industry professionals utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to perform analyses that were once labor-intensive endeavors. Those analyses may be used to inform everything from the sentencing of defendants to policing procedures to lawyers’ performance in courtrooms to judicial decisions. Although technology may be used to replicate human decision-making, legal professionals play an essential role in compiling data sets, defining queries, and interpreting findings to present them accessibly for broader audiences. This course will cover the ways data is used in the legal industry and the ethical obligation of legal professionals to question both data driven decisions and their underlying algorithms.
Units: 3
Grading: Letter Grade