When Precedent Gets Nuanced: Why Legal AI Needs Dimensions, Not Just Factors
Rules are easy when the facts repeat themselves. The previous case had a bribe, this case has a bribe; the previous decision went one way, so the new decision should probably follow. That is the comforting version of precedent. It is also the version most likely to make legal AI look coherent in a demo and naïve in production. A small inconvenience, but tradition has survived worse. ...