Proof Over Precedent

Proof Over Precedent

The Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School discusses the work of bringing credible evidence to lawyers, judges, and decision makers, to transform the U.S. justice system into an evidence-based field. We bring you weekly one-on-one interviews with experts in the area of access to justice -- researchers, lawyers, professors, law students, data analysts, research participants, and anyone who has an interesting role in this growing area.

Episodes

Episode 16: Can Community Diversion Program Help Repeat Offenders Rehabilitate?

September 29, 2025 • 32 mins
A recently launched A2J Lab study examines the effectiveness of an education and community resource-focused program at reducing recidivism among low-level offenders. The results could determine whether the program, already in practice for seven years in Toledo, OH, could be an affordable blueprint for other municipal court systems.
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Episode 15: Pro Se Problems -- Defining and Deploying Legal Knowledge

September 22, 2025 • 20 mins
In this “Student Voices” episode of Proof Over Precedent, HLS J.D. candidate Rachel Barkin discusses the challenges faced by pro se litigants in complying with civil procedure rules. While interpretation of legal language may be an obstacle, she argues that "deployability" is the more significant hurdle for self-represented litigants.
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Episode 14: Ethical Conundrums in Legal Research

September 15, 2025 • 45 mins
In this Proof Over Precedent episode, the third show in the 'Demystifying IRBs' series, host Jim Greiner meets with IRB expert Shannon Sewards to answer the tricky question: Who counts as a 'human subject'? Legal researchers need to know about IRBs and how they define ‘human subjects’ and IRBs need to know about legal research and the role of participants in the studies. ...
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Episode 13: Criminal Gideon, Civil Gideon, And Gender

September 8, 2025 • 15 mins
This "Student Voices" episode of Proof Over Precedent discusses the critical need for providing legal representation in civil cases—particularly those in which an individual's home, family, or safety is at risk. While the right to counsel already extends to criminal cases in both federal and state courts, it does not currently extend to civil cases, where the socioeconomic outcomes often...
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Episode 13: Criminal Gideon, Civil Gideon, And Gender

September 8, 2025 • 15 mins
This "Student Voices" episode of Proof Over Precedent discusses the critical need for providing legal representation in civil cases—particularly those in which an individual's home, family, or safety is at risk. While the right to counsel already extends to criminal cases in both federal and state courts, it does not currently extend to civil cases, where the socioeconomic outcomes often...
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Episode 12: Can Texts Help Secure Housing and Avoid Evictions?

September 1, 2025 • 46 mins
In this episode of Proof Over Precedent, host Jim Greiner talks with the A2J Lab’s Renee Danser about the recently completed pilot study referred to as the “Eviction Diversion Study.” The study aimed to combat housing security by providing legal information and resources to at-risk populations in the Houston area via text messaging.
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Episode 11: Breaking Legal Traditions -- Insights from Medicine's Evidence-Based Evolution

August 25, 2025 • 15 mins
In this "Student Voices" episode of Proof Over Precedent, HLS student Andrew Reed explores how the legal profession could benefit from adopting data-driven, evidence-based practices similar to those in medicine. The episode examines the historical transformation of medicine from tradition-based to science-based and discusses key lessons that law can learn. ...
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Episode 10: What is Human Subjects Research in Law?

August 18, 2025 • 52 mins
In this second episode in the Proof Over Precedent series on demystifying the institutional review board process in law, host Jim Greiner speaks again with IRB expert Shannon Sewards, this time to define human subjects research and differentiate it from medical research.
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Episode 9: Cellphone Bans: Courthouse Nuisance or Necessity?

August 11, 2025 • 17 mins
In this Student Voices episode of Proof Over Precedent, J.D. candidate Andrew Reed discusses courthouse cell phone bans including unintended consequences, potential solutions to cellphone disruptions, and an opportunity for empirical studies on the topic.
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Episode 8: Ethics in Research -- IRBs and the Common Rule Explained

August 4, 2025 • 40 mins
This week, in the first of a series of podcast talks demystifying IRBs, Proof Over Precedent host Jim Greiner talks with IRB expert Shannon Sewards about the importance of IRBs and the Common Rule in ensuring ethical research practices, particularly as it applies to legal research.
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Episode 7: Evaluating Online and In-Person Family Law Hearings

July 28, 2025 • 44 mins
Does the medium of family law cases -- online or in-person -- factor into procedural justice and the satisfaction of litigants in these cases? One U.S. court system wanted to find out. With the study a few months from completion, a third factor has emerged-- litigant choice.
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Episode 6: Online Courts Show Promise but Little National FTA Data

July 21, 2025 • 16 mins
Hypothetical situation (that was real for at least one person): You're issued a traffic ticket requiring appearance in a courthouse 400 miles away from your home. Do you a) absorb the travel costs and skip work to appear in court, b) pay the ticket fine online, if possible, to avoid the hassle, c) hire a lawyer to appear for you, if possible, or d) appear in court via Zoom, if available?...
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Episode 5: Can Simple, Affordable Ideas Improve Courts' Costly Failure-to-Appear Rates?

July 14, 2025 • 50 mins
Failure to appear in criminal cases can lead defendants to jail time, draining resources from police, courts, and taxpayer dollars. But the solution may be cheaper and easier than expected. A2J Lab Faculty Director Jim Greiner speaks with Alissa Fishbane, managing director at ideas42, about her research into informational gaps pertaining to court-related issues. ...
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Episode 4: Can Immigration Courts Save Time, Money, AND Noncitizen Dignity with Legal Information Programs?

July 7, 2025 • 21 mins
Harvard Law School student Julia Saltzman leads a Student Voices episode of Proof Over Precedent to discuss legal information programs amid immigration court proceedings for unrepresented noncitizens. Prior evaluations show they reduce detention rates and save taxpayer money. But what about evidence-based research focused on due process?
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Episode 3: Can Non-Lawyers Offer Relief and Expertise in Deportation Cases?

June 30, 2025 • 16 mins
In this first Student Voices episode of Proof Over Precedent, Harvard Law School student Michael Pusic proposes a possible solution for the 86% of noncitizens detained in immigration court without a lawyer: Enable non-lawyers with specialized training and experience to represent individuals facing deportation. It's already passed observational tests; now, he says, it's time for a randomi...
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Episode 2: Should AI Dole Out Legal Advice to Lawyers?

June 23, 2025 • 30 mins
This episode looks into the OpenJustice project, a study combining access to justice and artificial intelligence. It's just a year in development but already moving relatively quickly through its randomized control trial.
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Episode 1: Could Holistic Legal Services Help Families Avoid the Child Welfare System?

June 16, 2025 • 45 mins
This episode offers a mid-study update on a decades-long randomized control trial, unofficially referred to as the “Child Welfare” project, which evaluates whether families with children who face poverty-related legal and social challenges can avoid unnecessary entries into the child welfare system with the assistance of holistic legal services – a combination of social worker services a...
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Episode 0: Get to Know Us Again

June 11, 2025 • 20 mins
This episode introduces listeners to the Proof Over Precedent podcast and the work of the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School. The lab focuses on bringing empirical research into the legal field for both civil and criminal justice systems.
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