# ScoSat - Judicial Branch OSINT Scanner

## What It Does

ScoSat monitors the Supreme Court, federal courts, and DOJ for opinions, orders, nominations, and judicial developments. It tracks the judicial branch from SCOTUS down to district courts.

## Commands

| Command | Action |
|---------|--------|
| **"scosat scan"** | Run all monitors across SCOTUS, federal courts, and DOJ |
| **"scosat scan scotus"** | Supreme Court: docket, orders, opinions, arguments |
| **"scosat scan justices"** | Individual Justice tracking: statements, disclosures, recusals |
| **"scosat scan circuits"** | Federal circuit courts: major rulings, administrative law |
| **"scosat scan doj"** | DOJ: indictments, settlements, policy memos |
| **"scosat scan nominations"** | Judicial nominations, confirmations, vacancies |
| **"scosat on/off"** | Master switch |

## Alert Levels

| Level | Meaning |
|-------|---------|
| 🔴 CRITICAL | Major SCOTUS opinion, emergency stay, DOJ indictment of public figure |
| 🟠 HIGH | Cert granted, argument scheduled, significant circuit ruling |
| 🟡 MEDIUM | Routine orders list, argument transcript, DOJ press release |
| 🟢 LOW | Baseline, no significant activity |

## Categories

| Category | Monitors |
|----------|----------|
| **scotus-docket** | Cases pending, cert petitions, emergency applications |
| **scotus-orders** | Monday orders list, shadow docket emergency applications |
| **scotus-opinions** | Published opinions, dissents, concurrences |
| **scotus-arguments** | Oral argument calendar, audio, transcripts |
| **justices-individual** | Each Justice: public statements, speeches, financial disclosures |
| **justice-recusals** | Recusal announcements, ethics controversies |
| **circuit-dc** | DC Circuit: admin law, regulatory challenges |
| **circuit-fifth** | Fifth Circuit: high volume of federal agency challenges |
| **circuit-ninth** | Ninth Circuit: immigration, environmental law |
| **circuit-rest** | Remaining circuits: 1st-4th, 6th-8th, 10th-11th, Federal Circuit |
| **doj-announcements** | Press releases, indictments, settlements |
| **fbi-announcements** | Press releases, major investigations |
| **pacer** | Major filings via CourtListener/RECAP |
| **judicial-nominations** | Vacancies, nominations, confirmation votes |

## Data Sources

Primary (Tier 1): Supreme Court website, SCOTUSblog, CourtListener API, PACER (via RECAP)

Secondary (Tier 2): Circuit court websites, DOJ.gov, FBI.gov

Tertiary (Tier 3): Judicial financial disclosures, Fix the Court, judicial ethics reports

## Execution Flow

1. **Check switch**: Read `memory/scosat-switch.json`. If disabled, exit.
2. **Category selection**: Based on command, select monitors to run.
3. **Search cascade**: For each monitor, execute search queries or fetch from APIs.
4. **Alert classification**: Apply thresholds, assign alert level.
5. **Compile report**: Aggregate findings into structured output.
6. **Log**: Save to `memory/scosat/scan-log.json`.

## Output Format

```
⚖️ SCOSAT SCAN — [CATEGORY] — [TIMESTAMP]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Alert Level] MONITOR NAME
- Finding: [what was found]
- Source: [where it came from]
- Significance: [why it matters]
```

## Files

- `references/monitors.json` — Monitor definitions with sources, queries, thresholds
- `scripts/scosat_scan.py` — Switch/log manager CLI (optional)
- `memory/scosat/scan-log.json` — Scan history
- `memory/scosat-switch.json` — Master switch

## API Keys Required

| Service | Purpose | Get Key |
|---------|---------|---------|
| CourtListener | Opinions, dockets, alerts | https://www.courtlistener.com/sign-in/ |
| PACER | Federal court filings (paid) | https://pacer.uscourts.gov |

Note: CourtListener provides free access to much of PACER via the RECAP archive.

## Special Notes

### SCOTUS Schedule
- Term runs October through June
- Orders lists released Monday mornings during term
- Opinion days are typically Mondays and Tuesdays, increasing toward end of term
- Shadow docket: emergency applications decided without full briefing

### Justice Tracking
- Each Justice has different speaking/engagement patterns
- Financial disclosures filed annually (May/June)
- Recusal controversies can signal case outcomes

### Circuit Court Focus
- DC Circuit: Administrative law, regulatory challenges
- Fifth Circuit: High volume of challenges to federal agency actions
- Ninth Circuit: Immigration, environmental law
- Federal Circuit: Patent law, government contracts