[[INSLAW|Inslaw Corporation]] is a software company that developed the [[PROMIS]] (Prosecutor's Management Information System) software in the early 1980s. The company was owned by [[Bill Hamilton]] and [[Nancy Hamilton]].[3] Inslaw became central to a major scandal when it sued the [[United States Department of Justice|DOJ]] for alleged non-payment on a version of PROMIS called Modification 12, and for allegedly pirating and modifying the software for sale to foreign governments, including [[Israel]] and [[Canada]].[3] [[Michael Riconosciuto]] claimed to have installed a "back door" in the PROMIS software, which was then allegedly made available by [[Earl Brian]] through [[Wackenhut Corporation]] after acquiring it from [[Peter Videnieks]], a [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] contracting official.[3] The [[PROMIS Software Scandal]] became a significant focus of investigative journalist [[Danny Casolaro]]'s work, who believed it was connected to a larger network he termed "[[The Octopus]]."[3] > [!WARNING] INCOMPLETE RESEARCH > This page is a placeholder and requires extensive additions. The Institute for Law and Social Research (INSLAW) started as a non-profit think tank and research group founded by former [[NSA]] analyst [[Bill Hamilton]] and his wife [[Nancy Hamilton]] in XXXX year in Washington, DC. It was located at 1025 Fifteenth St, NW, Washington DC 20005. ## PROMIS > [!TODO] TODO > Brief [[PROMIS]] summary ### PROMIS RESEARCH PROJECT > [!TODO] TODO > Need to research exactly what this was, who funded it, who was in charge, etc. All we know currently is the 17+ papers published and possibly team leaders. 74-NI -99-0008-G - [[PROMIS Research Project|PROMIS Research]] (Institute for Law and Social Research, Washington, D.C.; William A. Hamilton, Project Director). The Prosecutor's Management Information System (PROMIS) collects detailed statistical data on every case prosecuted or considered for prosecution in the D.C. Superior Court. Based on this data, the project will diagnose problems and develop recommended changes in police and prosecution management policies, procedures and decision-making. ### JIS > [!TODO] TODO > Need to summarize the [[JIS|Jail Information System]][^1] ## DOJ > [!TODO] TODO > Need to find [[U.S. Department of Justice]] contract with INSLAW and flesh out details. ## Bankruptcy > [!TODO] TODO > Need to go through the bankruptcy court case and fully update [[Inslaw, Inc., et al. v. The United States]], etc ## FBI In mid-1979, the [[FBI]] sought approval from Congress for acquisition of a new front-end processor (also known as a communications controller), a device that controls and manages the flow of messages into and out of the computer. In order to evaluate this request, the Senate Judiciary Committee asked both the [[OTA|Office of Technology Assessment]] (OTA) and the Institute for Law and Social Research (INSLAW) for an outside analysis.[^2] #### Footnotes [^1]: https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/83078NCJRS.pdf [^2]: https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk3/1982/8203/820308.PDF [^3]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.