Sources of Law as Data

Sources of Law as Data

Source records, snapshot provenance, and the boundary between integrity and interpretation.

Structured Visual

Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.

RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.

Minimum source recordMinimum source recordscope: US | Deliberately incomplete glance map | as of 2026-08-28Simplified structural model; jurisdictions vary; not legal advice; cite, abstain, and handoff for interpretation.Identify sourceRecord citationPreserve exact textStore provenanceedge=n1->n2 label=nextedge=n2->n3 label=nextedge=n3->n4 label=nextSCC: scc3:n1; scc2:n2; scc1:n3; scc0:n4
highlighted = computed this step

Scope and honesty note

Jurisdiction: United States structural overview; as of 2026-08-28; jurisdictions vary; not legal advice. This lesson renders source and process structure, refuses interpretation, cites, abstains, and hands off.

US structural model as of 2026−08−28\text{US structural model as of }2026-08-28

See the essential structure first

The preview shows the minimum provenance chain; the detailed record below carries jurisdiction, date, hashes, and limitations. This deliberately incomplete preview has 4 nodes; exceptions and legal consequences remain in the sourced prose below.

glance nodes=4\text{glance nodes}=4

Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.

RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.

Minimum source recordMinimum source recordscope: US | Deliberately incomplete glance map | as of 2026-08-28Simplified structural model; jurisdictions vary; not legal advice; cite, abstain, and handoff for interpretation.Identify sourceRecord citationPreserve exact textStore provenanceedge=n1->n2 label=nextedge=n2->n3 label=nextedge=n3->n4 label=nextSCC: scc3:n1; scc2:n2; scc1:n3; scc0:n4

Legal sources need provenance

A legal source is more than a text string. A usable record preserves source type, jurisdiction, citation, snapshot date, exact quoted text, and a route back to the public source. Those fields support verification without deciding authority weight.

source record equals text plus legal and technical provenance\text{source record equals text plus legal and technical provenance}

A real fixture record

The example fixture identifies U.S. Const. art. I, § 1, stores its citation-index record, and points to https://www.neochart.com/catalog/constitution/articles/article_1/section_1/const_art1_sec1_1a59fd90b5f3/article_i_section_1_0001/index.html. The rendered attribution is data via neochart.com, snapshot 2026-08.

fixture id: us−const−art−1−sec−1\text{fixture id: }us-const-art-1-sec-1

What the hash proves

The committed SHA hash detects fixture-byte changes. It does not prove that the legal text is current, controlling, correctly interpreted, or applicable to a user's facts. Re-pinning therefore repeats source verification and updates the snapshot record.

integrity check is not a legal validity judgment\text{integrity check is not a legal validity judgment}

Read the source-record diagram

The tree has 7 nodes. Each child is a field that a downstream lesson can inspect before any interpretation or handoff.

source record nodes=7\text{source record nodes}=7

Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.

RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.

Source record fieldsPinned source recordFixture-backed authoritySource typeConstitution, statute, rule, case, or otherJurisdictionIssuing legal systemCitationHuman-readable source coordinateAs-of dateSnapshot time labelExact textVerbatim fixture excerptProvenancePublic URL and fixture hash

Narrow summary

Treat provenance, citation, jurisdiction, and snapshot date as required data fields, while reserving legal force and application for reviewed analysis.

provenance is required; interpretation is handed off\text{provenance is required; interpretation is handed off}