Release: 0.1.0

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

0.1.0

The first release, and the first on PyPI. It is a complete rewrite of the
earlier, unreleased CourtPy, which was built on siMpLify. The analysis is now
done with amos (and its workflows
with chrisjen). The changes below
are from that earlier code.

Added

• Downloads from CourtListener, now the main source of opinions:
  • BulkData extracts cases from CourtListener's quarterly bulk data, which
    needs no API key and has no limits. It downloads the files (resuming an
    interrupted download) or streams them.
  • CourtListener downloads cases with the REST API (version 4). It spaces
    its requests, waits when CourtListener asks it to, and saves its place so
    that a download stopped by an account's limit resumes where it stopped.
  • Both save each case as a JSON file, which courtlistener.read_case reads.
    CourtListener's header information comes from its data, so no rules are
    needed to find it.
• courtpy.secrets keeps the CourtListener API key outside of any project:
  in the system keyring, in a private file in the user's configuration folder,
  in the COURTLISTENER_API_KEY environment variable, or in a .env file.
• A single rule engine (Rule and Rulebook) for every CSV file of rules,
  with one set of columns (target, variable, kind, pattern, value,
  ignorecase, dotall, and note) and nine kinds of rules. See
  src/courtpy/instructions/README.md.
• The coders code_parties, code_case_type, code_outcome, and drop_text,
  which are amos techniques and can be named in any amos settings.
• courtpy.Project, an amos.Project whose "cases" section collects, parses,
  and codes the cases before the analysis.
• The courtpy command (key, download, split, parse, rules, and
  run).
• Tests, and an example study (examples/federal_appeals.ini).
• The parts of the snickerdoodle
  template: GitHub Actions (tests on Linux, macOS, and Windows with Python
  3.11 to 3.14, linting, type checking, documentation deployed to GitHub
  Pages, releases, publishing to PyPI, and validating the Codecov settings),
  dependabot, issue templates, pre-commit hooks, an editor configuration, a
  code of conduct, a contribution guide, and documentation built with MkDocs
  (a tutorial, an advanced user guide, a guide to writing rules, recipes, and
  the API reference).

Changed

• The package uses a src layout and is built with hatchling and uv.
• The old instruction files were converted to the new columns:
  organizer_lexis_nexis.csv and separate_opinions.csv became
  lexis_nexis.csv, keywords_federal.csv became federal/header.csv, and
  parser_opinions_federal.csv became federal/opinion.csv (and is now
  saved in UTF-8). Some variables were renamed to be easier to read, such as
  party_appnt1 to party1_appellant, counsel_us_atty to
  counsel_us_attorney, notice_unpub_rule to notice_unpublished, and
  disposition_op_reversed to opinion_reverse.
• A decision is coded as a reversal from its stated disposition when it has
  one, and only otherwise from the opinion's words. (Before, either one was
  enough, so "we will not reverse" in an affirmed case counted as a
  reversal.)
• Which party won an appeal is now coded from the party's role: an appellant
  wins a reversal, and an appellee wins an affirmance. (The old code had the
  two reversed.) Outcomes that cannot be known are missing values rather than
  false.
• Judges' names are split at whole words only, so names such as "Kirby" and
  "Holland" are no longer cut at "BY" and "AND".

Fixed in the rules

• Fed_App_P, Fed_Civ_P, Fed_Crim_P, and Fed_Evid required a "§" sign,
  which is not used when federal rules are cited, so they never matched. The
  evidence rule's pattern was also malformed.
• references_case now includes the Federal Reporter, Fourth Series (F.4th).
• amend8 searched for the Seventh Amendment's numeral ("VII").
• titlevii required the text "Title VII.," followed by a space.
• alcohol searched for "ddistilled".
• The opinion's dispositions (opinion_reverse, opinion_vacate,
  opinion_remand, and opinion_dismiss) only matched "We willreverse" (with
  no space) or a capitalized "Dismiss".
• The variables criminal_manslaugther and general_aritcleiv are now
  criminal_manslaughter and general_articleiv.
• Non-breaking spaces in patterns now match any space.
• Lexis-Nexis header sections that end the header (such as a "JUDGES:"
  paragraph just before "OPINION") are now found.
• Agencies are matched from the longest name down, so "Postal Service Board of
  Contract Appeals" is no longer labeled "Postal Service".

Removed

• The siMpLify-based modules (almanac, cookbook, entities, implements,
  cases.py, and controller.py) and the settings files that went with them.
• The federal_archive instruction files, which the combined files had
  replaced.
• The external data used to add judges' biographies and political context is
  kept in reference/, but is not yet used by the new version.