Audit the citations in a draft before release
For lawyers and editors checking a brief or research memorandum.
What should a citation reviewer verify beyond the existence of a case?
Verify that the cited source supports the sentence as written, at the stated location, for the jurisdiction and time at issue. Then check whether later developments change how the authority can be used. A working link establishes only that something opens.
Start with the sentence, then open the source
Copy the sentence into a review row. If it makes two claims, check both. Open the full authority, confirm the case name or statutory section, issuing body, date and pinpoint, and read the surrounding passage. Compare quoted language character by character, including omissions and added brackets.
Identify whose words you are reading. A court may be describing a party's argument, quoting another decision, recounting a prior ruling or setting out a dissent. Attribute the proposition to the correct speaker and distinguish the holding from an illustration or observation.
Check authority and later treatment
Record the jurisdiction and procedural posture. Look for amendments, withdrawal, rehearing, appeal and later decisions discussing the particular proposition. Read the later authority itself when its treatment matters. Record the date, sources searched and any unresolved coverage limit. If the draft says a rule always applies, actively look for an exception.
A federal civil filing raises an additional question. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b) addresses the representations made when an attorney or unrepresented party presents a covered paper to the district court. Check the rule's scope and the applicable court's rules and orders for the actual filing.
Return a disposition for every issue
Use a concrete disposition such as verified at page 12, narrow the assertion, replace the source or refer the open question to the responsible lawyer. Repeat the check on the release copy if a changed sentence affects the proposition. Keep the audit associated with that version.
Worked example
Illustrative example. The draft says a court required notice in every case. The cited paragraph reports what the appellant requested, and the following paragraph expressly reserves the question. The reviewer marks the claim unsupported, gives both page locations to the author and rechecks the revised sentence before release.
Primary sources
Related work at Agentic Attorney
This citation audit is in the shared Agentic Attorney resource collection. The hub explains its work on AI implementation for legal teams. Explore Agentic Attorney’s approach to AI implementation.