The builder's path
For: People filing in NL courts can't quickly check that every case they cite actually exists.
“The true creator is necessity, which is the mother of our invention.”
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Step 1
Build in the open
Publish the code and invite contributors from the community.
Newfoundland and Labrador's startup incubator: programmes, mentors and community.
NL's tech industry association: events, programmes and connections.
Civic tech: technologists working with governments on public services.
Builds federal public services in the open; a route for problems with government services.
Step 2
Fund the maintainers
Sponsors, collectives and open source grants.
Federal funding and advice for Atlantic Canadian businesses.
Civic tech: technologists working with governments on public services.
Builds federal public services in the open; a route for problems with government services.
Advice and funding for technology innovation in Canada.
Step 3
Get it adopted
Civic tech groups and public bodies take it up.
Federal funding and advice for Atlantic Canadian businesses.
How the Newfoundland and Labrador government buys; open calls are posted here.
Newfoundland and Labrador's startup incubator: programmes, mentors and community.
NL's tech industry association: events, programmes and connections.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
how to look up cases and legislation by database and citation; needs a key
runs the free legal database the court names and issues API keys
regulates lawyers in NL and can say what checking lawyers are expected to do
Starter prompt
Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.
Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Newfoundland and Labrador. Problem: People filing in NL courts can't quickly check that every case they cite actually exists. Who it hurts: Lawyers and self-represented people who use AI tools to help draft court filings, and the court staff who read them. The moment it hurts: Just before a filing goes in, when someone has to confirm each cited case and statute by hand. What people do today: The NL Supreme Court asks people to verify citations against reliable legal databases such as CanLII. That is done one citation at a time. Why it is still unsolved: Canadian citations come in several formats (neutral citations, report series), and the duty to check sits with the person filing, who may have no legal research tools. What solved looks like: A free web tool where someone pastes a draft and gets back every case and statute citation in it, each marked as found on CanLII (with a link), not found, or found with a different name or year. Tested on 20 real Canadian decisions with planted fake citations, it catches every planted fake and wrongly flags fewer than 1 in 10 real citations. Where: Newfoundland and Labrador First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions. Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use. Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“Truth is one; the wise speak of it in many ways.”
एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति
ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadanti
Get a working version in front of people fast.
Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“Act, keeping in view the welfare of the world.”
लोकसंग्रहमेवापि सम्पश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि
lokasaṅgraham evāpi sampaśyan kartum arhasi
Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.
“Whatever a great person does, others follow.”
यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः
yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ
Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.