On modeling creativity in legal reasoning

In this paper we address the problem of how new categories and new interpretations can be created in legal reasoning. We present some examples of such creativity, and then analyze them to identify the mechanisms that must be modeled for incorporating creativity. We point out that many of these mechanisms can be implemented by using components of already existing systems. Based on this analysis, we outline our approach, which uses a blackboard style architecture to generate creative arguments. Top-down processes are activated by portions of rules or ratio decidendi of precedents. Bottom-up processes are activated by the facts of the current case and precedents. The retrieval of precedents is also modeled as a blackboard process, so that which precedents are examined is determined dynamically depending on the contents of the blackboard. We compare our approach with existing research and then briefly mention future research problems.