Unsupervised Factor Extraction from Pretrial Detention Decisions by Italian and Brazilian Supreme Courts

Pretrial detention is a debated and controversial measure since it is an exception to the principle of the presumption of innocence. To determine whether and to what extent legal systems make exces- sive use of pretrial detention, an empirical analysis of judicial practice is needed. The paper presents some preliminary results of experimental re- search aimed at identifying the relevant factors on the basis of which Ital- ian and Brazilian Supreme Courts impose the measure. To analyze and extract the relevant predictive-features, we rely on unsupervised learn- ing approaches, in particular association and clustering methods. As a result, we found common factors between the two legal systems in terms of crime, location, grounds for appeal, and judge’s reasoning.