Supreme Court Reader
REFERENCE

The categorization schema.

Every case the normalization agent processes is tagged against these controlled vocabularies. Each value below is a fixed state the agent chooses from; the open-ended fields at the bottom have no enumerable list.

Legal doctrine

Doctrinal areas of law. · 76 categories

Individual & Civil Rights
Race & ethnicity discriminationSex discriminationSexual orientation & gender identityCongressional power to enforce civil rightsImmunity in civil-rights suitsAbortion & birth controlEnd of lifeCitizenshipFreedom of movementInvoluntary commitmentPublic health & safety
Criminal Law & Procedure
Investigation & searchInterrogation & confessionsRight to counselTrial rights (jury, confrontation, speedy/public)Capital punishmentSentencing & punishment (non-capital)Habeas & post-conviction reviewCompetence & insanitySubstantive offenses & statutory constructionDetention of terrorism suspects
Courts, Civil Procedure & Litigation
Personal jurisdictionSubject-matter jurisdictionStanding & justiciabilityEvidenceFederal common lawComplex litigation & class actionsConflict of lawsDiscoveryRemediesStandard of review / errorArbitrationPreclusion & finality
Corporate Law & Contracts
ContractsCorporations & governanceLabor & employment lawSecurities & financial instrumentsAntitrust & competitionBankruptcy & creditors
Administrative Law
Agency deference & statutory interpretationRulemaking & APA procedureJudicial review of agency action
Separation of Powers
Appointments & removalNondelegationLegislative power & oversightJudicial power
Federalism
Commerce powerPreemptionAnti-commandeering & state sovereigntySpending power & conditions
Congressional / Legislative Power
(no sub-categories)
Executive Power
DomesticForeign affairs & war powers
Taxation
(no sub-categories)
Immigration Law
(no sub-categories)
Family Law
(no sub-categories)
Environmental & Energy Law
(no sub-categories)
Health Law
(no sub-categories)
Native American Law
(no sub-categories)
Voting & Elections
Redistricting & apportionmentVoting rights & accessCampaign finance
Intellectual Property
CopyrightPatentsTrademark
Other / Miscellaneous
(no sub-categories)

Constitutional provisions

Specific constitutional provisions at issue. · 48 categories

First Amendment
Freedom of speech & pressEstablishment ClauseFree Exercise ClauseAssembly & associationPetition
Second Amendment
(no sub-categories)
Third Amendment
(no sub-categories)
Fourth Amendment (search & seizure)
(no sub-categories)
Fifth Amendment
Self-incriminationDouble jeopardyDue process (federal)Takings ClauseGrand jury
Sixth Amendment
Right to counselJury trialConfrontationSpeedy & public trial
Seventh Amendment (civil jury)
(no sub-categories)
Eighth Amendment
Cruel & unusual punishmentExcessive fines & bail
Ninth Amendment
(no sub-categories)
Tenth Amendment (reserved powers)
(no sub-categories)
Eleventh Amendment (sovereign immunity)
(no sub-categories)
Thirteenth Amendment (slavery)
(no sub-categories)
Fourteenth Amendment
Due processEqual protectionIncorporationPrivileges or immunities
Fifteenth Amendment (race & voting)
(no sub-categories)
Nineteenth Amendment (sex & voting)
(no sub-categories)
Twenty-fourth Amendment (poll tax)
(no sub-categories)
Twenty-sixth Amendment (voting age)
(no sub-categories)
Structural Clauses (Articles I–III)
Commerce ClauseDormant Commerce ClauseSpending ClauseNecessary & Proper ClauseSupremacy ClauseContracts ClauseEx Post Facto / Bills of AttainderPrivileges & Immunities (Art. IV)Appointments ClauseTake Care Clause

Subject matter

Real-world people, groups, and subjects present. · 45 categories

People & Power
The presidencyCongress / legislatorsThe judiciaryLaw enforcement / policeMilitary / armed forcesPress & mediaBusiness / corporationsReligious institutionsForeign governmentsStates & localitiesUnionsPolitical parties
Identity & Groups
Race & ethnicitySex & genderSexual orientationReligious beliefImmigrants / noncitizensChildren & familiesDisabilityThe poorThe elderlyVeterans
Subjects & Activities
Elections & politicsMoney & financeTechnology & internetFirearmsDrugs & alcoholSex & sexualityViolenceDeath & dyingMedicine & healthEnvironment & wildlifeEducation & schoolsLabor & workLand & propertyWar & terrorismAbortion & reproductionScience & dataSportsTransportationHousingPrisons & incarceration

Procedural markers

Disposition & posture

Case dispositioncases.disposition

Whether the case is a full merits decision or a preliminary / shadow-docket posture.

MeritsPreliminaryMixed
Opinion dispositionopinions.disposition

Per-opinion disposition — drives the reader's non-merits warning seal.

MeritsCert DenialCert GrantOrderStatement
SCOTUS dispositioncases.scotus_disposition

What the Court did with the judgment below.

AffirmedReversedVacatedRemandedAffirmed in partDismissedDIG (dismissed as improvidently granted)GVR (granted, vacated, remanded)Other
Jurisdiction basis (vehicle)cases.jurisdiction_basis

How the case reached the Court.

CertiorariCert before judgmentDirect appealOriginalCertified questionExtraordinary writApplicationBar disciplineOther
Decision mannercases.decision_manner

How it was decided.

ArguedSummaryEqually divided (4–4)Emergency
Caption flagscases.flags[]

Caption-visible flags. A case may carry several.

CapitalPro seIn forma pauperisUnited States a partyCVSG (views of the Solicitor General invited)ConsolidatedDissent from denialCircuit splitEn banc belowFacial challengeAs-applied challenge

Tagging

Category weightcase_categories.weight

Relative importance of each category tag to the case.

LowMedHighMax

Relief

Relief typecase_relief.relief_type

The kind of relief sought / at issue (stay, injunction, habeas, …) — not necessarily granted. Pair with the outcome for what the Court actually did.

InjunctionStayMandamusProhibitionHabeasDeclaratoryDamagesVacaturRemand with instructionsBailAttorney FeesCertificate of appealabilityOther
Relief outcomecase_relief.outcome

What the Court did with the relief sought.

GrantedDeniedGranted in partNot reached

Challenges

Challenge targetcase_challenges.target_type

What kind of government action was challenged.

StatuteExecutive action
Challenge outcomecase_challenges.outcome
UpheldStruck downStruck in partMixedNot reached

Scrutiny

Scrutiny standardcase_scrutiny.standard

Level of constitutional scrutiny applied.

Rational basisIntermediateStrictHeightenedOther
Review outcomecase_scrutiny.outcome
UpheldStruck downMixedNot reached

Precedent

Precedent treatmentcase_precedents.treatment

What the opinion does to a prior precedent.

OverruledAbrogatedLimitedExtendedReaffirmedDistinguishedQuestioned

Opinions & lineup

Lineup alignmentcase_lineup.alignment

Each justice's primary alignment in the case.

MajorityPluralityConcurrenceConcurrence in judgmentDissentDissent in partNot participating
Opinion segment roleopinion_segments.role

Role of one authored opinion within a composite record.

MajorityPluralityPer curiamConcurrenceConcurrence in judgmentDissentDissent in partStatementOther

Notable passages

Passage kindsnotable_passages.kinds[]

Why a quoted passage stands out.

Key holdingRhetoricalPoeticPithyFive-dollar wordJokeLiterary allusionHistorical (pre-20th century)Federalist PapersFounding era
Passage confidencenotable_passages.confidence

How confident the tag is that the passage truly stands out.

LowMedHigh

Administrations

Presidential administrationcase_challenges.administration_slug
Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)Harry S. Truman (D)Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)John F. Kennedy (D)Lyndon B. Johnson (D)Richard Nixon (R)Gerald Ford (R)Jimmy Carter (D)Ronald Reagan (R)George H. W. Bush (R)Bill Clinton (D)George W. Bush (R)Barack Obama (D)Donald Trump (first term) (R)Joe Biden (D)Donald Trump (second term) (R)

Open-ended fields

These fields carry meaning the agent records, but they draw from no fixed enumerable list — so they can’t be shown as a finite set of states here.

case_challenges.target_desc

Free-text description of the specific statute or executive action challenged (e.g. “18 U.S.C. §3583 supervised-release sentencing”).

case_precedents.target_case

Name of the prior precedent treated — any case in U.S. history, so unbounded.

notable_passages.quote

The verbatim quoted text of a notable passage.

*.note

Optional free-text annotation attached to most marker rows (relief, challenges, scrutiny, precedents, lineup, categories).

opinion_segments.label

Free-text label for an authored opinion segment.

Bounded by a roster (definitive, but not an enum)

case_lineup.justice / opinion_segments.author

Justice names — bounded by the justices roster (lib/justices.ts).

case_challenges.administration_slug

Presidential administration — bounded by the ADMINISTRATIONS list (shown below).