Appeal

Appeal (Second Panel)

Context: $ARGUMENTS

The Roman Rota does not let the panel that issued a ruling hear its own appeal. This skill is the second panel: it reviews the standing verdict on the record, admits what the first pass missed, and re-runs. It is not a rubber stamp and it is not a reversal engine — most appeals should confirm.

Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/roman-rota.md and ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/argument-semantics.md.

Workflow

1. Read the record, then seal it

Never re-argue from the conversation. Appeal from the graph.

bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" verdict
bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" transcript
bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" lock --agent judge

lock seals the record: the engine will refuse reset and refuse edits to prior testimony until unlock. This is enforced, not a convention — a sealed entity cannot gain observations, so the history the appeal rules on cannot be rewritten underneath it. New nodes and new relations remain allowed; that is the appeal.

If the graph is empty there is nothing to appeal — say so and stop.

2. Find the appealable error

A verdict is only overturned on a defect in the record, not on disagreement with the conclusion. Look for exactly these:

If none of these hold, the appeal fails. Report the verdict as confirmed and stop. Confirming is the expected outcome — an appeal court that reverses everything is not a court.

3. Enter new material

Register what the first pass missed, attributed to the role whose case it serves. Add only material you can actually defend:

bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" add "<counter-id>" counter --obs "<why the attack fails>" --agent advocate
bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" relate "<counter-id>" undermines "<weakness-id>" --agent advocate
bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" add "<evidence-id>" evidence --obs "<source>" --agent advocate
bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" relate "<evidence-id>" supports "<assumption-id>" --agent advocate

An appeal can also go against the original appellant — if the first pass let a claim through unchallenged, attack it now:

bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" add "<weakness-id>" weakness --obs "<what breaks>" --agent adversary
bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" relate "<weakness-id>" undermines "<claim-id>" --agent adversary

4. Re-run, diff, and unseal

bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" verdict
bun "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts" unlock --agent judge

Compare against the verdict from step 1 and report what moved and why, in terms of the graph:

cost-reduction moved from does_not_survive to survives_scrutiny: multi-cloud-abstraction was entered against vendor-lockin, which is now OUT, so its attack no longer counts.

Output format

1. Standing verdict — what the first pass concluded
2. Ground for appeal — which defect above, or none
3. New material — what was entered, and by which role
4. Revised verdict — the re-run result
5. What moved — each change, traced to the node that caused it
6. What stands — everything the appeal confirmed

If nothing moved, say so plainly. "The appeal is dismissed; the verdict stands" is a complete and legitimate result.

Rules

• Appeal from the record. If it is not in the graph, it is not before the court.
• The record is sealed by lock — the engine refuses reset and refuses edits to prior testimony while the appeal runs. Do not work around it with DA_FORCE_RESET; that discards the case. unlock when the ruling is delivered.
• Do not reverse on preference. Name the structural defect or confirm.
• Attribute new material to the role it serves, so the transcript stays honest about who argued what.

Resources

• ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/roman-rota.md — load always. Mandatory opposition, and why appeals go to a different panel.
• ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/argument-semantics.md — load always. How labels are computed, so "what moved" can be explained mechanically.
• ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/lawsuits-against-the-devil.md — load when the verdict was dismissive rather than reasoned.
• ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/argument-graph.ts — verdict and transcript to read the record, add and relate to enter new material.