Terms of Use

I. Acceptance of this Agreement

By viewing, using, downloading, or otherwise accessing information, data, images, the Justice Outcome Explorer tool, or https://joe.cjars.org (collectively, "JOE"), you ("User") acknowledge your understanding and acceptance of this Terms of Use Agreement ("Agreement") in its entirety.

II. Expiration and Termination

This Agreement does not expire and remains applicable as long as User interacts with or uses JOE, including derivative products.

The University of Michigan may terminate User’s license for any reason upon thirty (30) days written notice sent to User's registered email address, if available. The University of Michigan may immediately terminate for cause in the event the University of Michigan finds, at its sole discretion, that User violated this Agreement. All provisions of this Agreement, which by their nature should survive termination, shall survive termination including, without limitation, warranty disclaimers, indemnification, and limitations of liability.

III. Use of Information for Educational, Statistical, or Research Purposes

All Users may view JOE, subject to the terms of this Agreement. Users are also granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferrable, non-sublicensable license for other uses of JOE for educational, statistical, and research purposes only ("Authorized Uses"), subject to the terms of this Agreement. Any license granted hereunder does not include the right to sell, market, or otherwise commercially exploit, republish, or redistribute JOE, or to use or disclose JOE for any other purpose not expressly authorized without the express written permission of the University of Michigan. This includes derivative data products.

Users wishing to download data for Authorized Uses must first register by providing true, accurate, and up-to-date information, including name, email address, job title, and organization. This information, and any other information collected during a User’s visit to the site, will be handled in accordance with the site’s privacy policy. Registration is a prerequisite to download and does not include any rights, express or implied, to data production or future access. Any misuse of the downloaded information/data or provision of false registration information shall be considered a breach for cause of this agreement and immediately revokes any previous permissions or licenses for JOE.

IV. User Responsibilities

User hereby agrees that:

1. User represents that User is not bound by any pre-existing legal obligations or other applicable laws that prevents User from viewing, using, downloading, or otherwise accessing JOE.
2. User will not use these data, alone or in combination with any other Criminal Justice Administrative Records System ("CJARS") data, to identify any individual person or household; not link or combine these data with information in any other CJARS or non-CJARS dataset in a manner that identifies an individual person or household; not publish information from these data files, particularly in combination with any other CJARS or non-CJARS data, in a manner that identifies any individual person or household; and not use the identity of any person discovered inadvertently. If, while using JOE, User inadvertently discovers the identity of any person, User shall advise CJARS of such discovery.
3. User will not use JOE in any way prohibited by applicable laws, including but not limited to laws relating to combating terrorism, and User’s use of JOE will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.
4. User will not use JOE to attempt to directly or indirectly identify or contact justice-involved individuals.
5. User will not falsely represent content accessed through JOE and still claim the source is JOE and/or CJARS.
6. User shall include the following citation in any use of JOE:
   Keith Finlay, Michael Mueller-Smith and the CJARS team. [specify year of download]. Justice Outcomes Explorer (JOE) [dataset]. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan. https://joe.cjars.org
7. User will not otherwise use the names, logos, symbols, images, or other identifying marks ("Marks") of the University of Michigan, Criminal Justice Administrative Records System (CJARS), or Justice Outcomes Explorer (JOE) in any publicity, advertising, or news release without prior written approval of the University of Michigan.

V. Additional Prohibited Conduct

The integrity, security, and operation of our website's systems and networks are paramount. The following conduct is expressly prohibited:

1. Users may not conduct any activities that are harmful to our site, such as the deployment of a denial-of-service attack or engaging in any other behavior intended to disrupt or interfere with the proper functioning of the site, circumvent security measures, tamper with user accounts, or access non-public areas of the site.
2. User shall not engage in any automatic or unauthorized means of data collection, such as scraping, data mining, or data harvesting. User shall not use any form of automated device or computer program (such as a bot, a spider, or periodic caching of information stored by us) to access, extract, download, or monitor our services or any of the data or content contained therein without prior written permission. Any attempt to gather data without express written permission or proper registration is a breach of this Agreement.
3. Users shall not use the site to create, upload, or distribute malware, including but not limited to, viruses, worms, spyware, ransomware, or any other harmful or destructive content.

VI. Warranties

User further understands and acknowledges that except as prohibited by law, JOE is understood to be provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE." UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS AND EXTENDS NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO: WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE; WARRANTIES OF AVAILABILITY OR PERFORMANCE; WARRANTIES OF DATA ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS; AND/OR THAT THE USE OF THE DATA WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY PATENT, COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK, OR OTHER PROPRIETARY RIGHTS.

VII. Indemnification

User agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Regents of the University of Michigan, its contractors, employees, agents, and the like from and against any and all claims and expenses including reasonable attorney's fees, arising out of User’s use of JOE, including but not limited to violation of this Agreement. Users are responsible for any and all damages and liability associated with User’s use of the Data. USER’S USE OF JOE IS SOLELY AT THE USER’S OWN RISK.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, USERS HEREBY WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS OF ANY KIND OR DESCRIPTION AGAINST THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH USER’S USE OF JOE AND ANY DECISIONS USER MAY MAKE AS A RESULT OF USING JOE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, OR ITS OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, RELIANCE, PUNITIVE,OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ATTORNEYS' FEES HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, TORT OR OTHERWISE ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF JOE EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE OR IF SUCH DAMAGES WERE FORESEEABLE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, SO SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY MAY NOT APPLY TO USER.

VIII. Disclaimer of Endorsement

None of the opinions or information included on this site should be interpreted to represent the views of CJARS, the University of Michigan, the Census Bureau, local or state agencies, funders, or any other organization or individual.

No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship is created as a result of this Agreement.

IX. International Use

CJARS and the University of Michigan make no claims that JOE and its data are appropriate or may be downloaded for use in locations outside the United States. Access to JOE from countries or territories where such access is illegal is prohibited and shall not be permitted for use (i) by persons on the List of Specifically Designated Nationals (www.treasury.gov/sdn) or entities owned or controlled by such persons; or (ii) in or with countries or territories against which the United States maintains comprehensive sanction (currently, Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, and the Crimea Region of Ukraine). Furthermore, CJARS’ databases are located in the United States. If User accesses this website from outside the United States, User does so at your own risk. By sending us User’s data, User consents to its transfer to and storage within the United States. Those who access JOE from outside the United States do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, rules and regulations.

X. Modifications

The University of Michigan may modify the terms of this Agreement at any time. Any and all modifications take immediate effect. User’s continued use of or access to JOE following posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those modified terms.

XI. Contact Information

Requests for written permissions should be directed to:

[email protected]

Failure to respond shall in no way be considered approval, agreeance, or permission. Explicit written permission is required for any permission specifications noted herein.

XII. Governing Law

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan, without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Michigan.

XIII. Severability

If any term, condition, clause, section, or other component of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable or invalid, such part will be amended or reduced in scope as little as necessary to make it enforceable and valid, ensuring that the remainder of this Agreement continues to have full effect and remains enforceable.

XIV. Miscellaneous

The University of Michigan’s or CJARS’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute waiver of such right or provision.