PostgreSQL Database Management for US Supreme Court Data

A Java-based project to set up and manage a PostgreSQL database for US Supreme Court data. This repository includes SQL schema files, Java code for database creation and table setup, and Docker configurations for running PostgreSQL and Adminer.

Features

• Automated creation of PostgreSQL database and tables using Java and Maven
• SQL schema files for key Supreme Court related tables (CallNumbers, Contributors, Items, Resources, Subjects)
• Docker Compose setup for PostgreSQL and Adminer for easy local development and management
• Java utility class to execute SQL files and perform basic database operations

Tech Stack

• Java 11
• Maven for build and dependency management
• PostgreSQL as the relational database
• Docker and Docker Compose for containerized database and Adminer
• Adminer for web-based database management

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Java 11 or higher installed
• Maven installed
• Docker and Docker Compose installed

Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/justin-napolitano/sup-court-postgres.git
cd sup-court-postgres

2. Start PostgreSQL and Adminer containers

docker-compose up -d

3. Build the Java project

mvn clean package

4. Run the Java application to create the database and tables

mvn exec:java -Dexec.mainClass="com.createdb.Main"

Project Structure

├── docker-compose.yml          # Docker Compose config for PostgreSQL and Adminer
├── pom.xml                    # Maven project descriptor
├── readme.md                  # This README file
├── index.md                   # Notes and initial thoughts
├── sql/                       # SQL schema files for table creation
│   ├── CallNumbers.sql
│   ├── Contributors.sql
│   ├── Items.sql
│   ├── Resources.sql
│   ├── Subjects.sql
│   └── Users.sql (assumed for future use)
├── src/                       # Java source code
│   └── main/java/com/createdb/
│       ├── DatabaseClient.java # Utility for executing SQL and DB operations
│       └── Main.java           # Main entry point for DB setup
└── target/                    # Maven build output

Future Work / Roadmap

• Implement web server (e.g., Flask) to serve data from the PostgreSQL database
• Develop frontend UI for browsing and querying Supreme Court data
• Add orchestration and scaling features for production deployment
• Expand database schema to include additional entities and relationships
• Integrate machine learning workflows for data analysis
• Improve error handling and logging in Java code

This project is a foundational step towards building an open-source graph of US Jurisprudence accessible via the web.