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Proof Over Precedent

Proof Over Precedent

By: Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School
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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.© 2025 Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 54: Will Clearing a Criminal Record Lead to Happiness (and Housing)?

    Episode 54: Will Clearing a Criminal Record Lead to Happiness (and Housing)?
    Jun 8 2026
    "My criminal record doesn't reflect who I am anymore." This sentiment overwhelmingly topped the list of reasons why expungement study participants wanted to clear their record that it seemed plausible to predict that clearing one's criminal record would lead to higher levels of life satisfaction. Likewise, it did not seem far-fetched to assume individuals without a criminal record would fare better in obtaining housing than those with one. In both cases though, the A2J Lab and Kansas Legal Services found surprising results to refute these assumptions.
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    31 mins
  • Episode 53: Expungement Expectations vs. Reality in Employment

    Episode 53: Expungement Expectations vs. Reality in Employment
    Jun 2 2026
    The A2J Lab's randomized control trial on expungement examined the uptake and obstacles of criminal record clearing while also looking into its effect on various socio-economic outcomes. This week's Proof Over Precedent episode gathers study researchers to discuss the "surprising and depressing" findings on expungement's effect on employment. They also dive into explanations for the stark difference between individuals' optimism and reality in the experiment.
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    45 mins
  • Episode 52: Study Exposes Complex Criminal Record Clearing Process

    Episode 52: Study Exposes Complex Criminal Record Clearing Process
    May 26 2026
    Is the form-filling expungement process as easy for unrepresented individuals as some believe? In this week's Proof Over Precedent episode, host Jim Greiner welcomes the A2J Lab team involved in our long-running Kansas-based study looking at the current record-clearing process and its obstacles. The results offer clear evidence for what it takes for a successful expungement.
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    48 mins
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