SCOTUS opinion author_id linkage gap (OT2008-OT2015)

[agulaya24]

I'm pulling SCOTUS opinions by justice using the API (/api/rest/v4/opinions/?author={person_id}). I noticed that opinions from roughly OT2008-OT2015 have author_id=null, with author attribution only in author_str. Pre-2008 and post-2016 opinions are properly linked to person records.

This affects all justices, not just the one I was querying (Clarence Thomas, person 3200). For example:

• McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) — Thomas concurrence (opinion 9435862): author_str="Thomas", author_id=null
• A full scan of 2012 opinions found 16 Thomas opinions, all with author_id=null

The pattern suggests this data came from a bulk import (possibly Harvard Caselaw Access Project, based on
date_created timestamps) where sub-opinions were stored with text-only author attribution and never linked to
CourtListener person records.

The author_str text field is populated correctly, so the data is there — it's just not normalized to the person FK. This means any API query filtering by author misses an ~8-year window of opinions.

Not urgent, just flagging in case it's useful for a future normalization pass. Happy to share specific opinion IDs I've identified if helpful.