Citation Discipline: No Blind Citations
Community legal packs audited themselves and found ~30% of their own memorized
docket numbers were wrong. The cure is mechanical, not aspirational: label every
assertion's epistemic tier, obey the hard locks, and ground filing-grade
citations in cached verbatim text (relex-research).
The three tiers — label everything you assert
- Secured — quotable and filing-grade. Only: text in the Relex verbatim
cache, the user's own documents, or an official source you (or the harness)
fetched live this session. Cite normally.
- Plausible — verify — you believe it from context or memory but it is not
secured. Flag inline:
[verify: <what to check, where>]. A draft may carry
[verify] flags only in internal work product — never in anything that
leaves the practice; those become directives (POST /research/scrape).
- Never-use — from model memory alone: docket/file numbers, ECLI strings,
commentary margin numbers, page/paragraph pinpoints, verbatim quotes,
database identifiers. Do not write them even with a flag. Encode the
authority as an anchor instead (below) and acquire.
Marking tier 2/3 honestly is clean lawyerly practice, not weakness.
Hard locks (non-negotiable)
- No proprietary blind cites. Never emit a paywalled-database locator
(BeckRS, juris, Westlaw/Lexis pin cites, La Ley…) from memory. Only if the
user supplied it or a licensed live source verified it. When one appears in
inherited text and can't be verified: extract court/date/docket, find the
free official source, else replace with
[proprietary locator removed — verify against a free official source].
- No citation without minimum data. A case citation needs court +
decision form + date + docket/neutral cite + a free, checkable source;
a pinpoint (para/margin number) only from the source itself.
- Renamed/moved-source traps. Sources get renamed, re-numbered,
consolidated (commentaries change editors; statutes get recodified;
transpositions land). If your knowledge of a source predates today, verify
the source still exists under that name/number before citing it.
- Statute first. Norm text → then verified case law → literature only when
supplied or live-verified.
- Topic-match check. Before attaching any authority: does the holding
actually support the proposition? A real citation for the wrong proposition
is still a false citation.
- No deadline from memory — hard lock; the canonical deadline rule lives in
relex-matter (compute from the secured norm text, flag for human
verification).
Anchors, not memorized citations
When you know the line of jurisprudence but not a secured citation, write an
anchor and acquire:
<topic/line> — <probable court/bench> — verify in <official free source>
e.g. "constructive dismissal; hearing duty — Federal Labour Court, 2nd senate
(line since mid-2000s) — verify in the court's official database"
Anchors are honest retrieval keys — they contain nothing to hallucinate.
Citation schema by family (one line each; jurisdiction packs carry detail)
- US — Bluebook; controlling vs persuasive marked; pin cites from source.
- UK — OSCOLA + neutral citation.
- DE — court, form, date, Aktenzeichen (+ECLI), source, Rn. from source;
no stare-decisis framing (§ 31 BVerfGG aside).
- CH — BGE/ATF volume-part-page + consideration (E.); unpublished by docket.
- FR — court, chamber, date, n° pourvoi; ECLI where available.
- IT/ES/RO — court, section, number/year (+ECLI where issued).
- EU — case number + name + ECLI.
- CA — McGill Guide + neutral citation. JP — court, date, reporter.
- AU — AGLC4 + neutral citation.
In Relex specifically
- The server verifier rejects drafts citing law without cached verbatim text —
when it does, that's a grounding gap: issue the directive, re-reason.
- Record grounded issues in the ontology with their ground ("settled — grounded
by cached § 823 BGB text"), so the understanding carries its evidence.
- Official-source whitelist per jurisdiction lives in
../jurisdictions/*.md;
finding aids (aggregators) are for finding, the citation names the official
source.
1---2name: relex-citations3description: Use whenever legal authority is cited, quoted, or relied on in Relex work — drafts, memos, ontology issues, research notes, any jurisdiction. Teaches the three-tier epistemic labeling (secured / verify / never-use), the hard citation locks, and the minimum-data citation schema that keep hallucinated law out of legal work.4---56# Citation Discipline: No Blind Citations78Community legal packs audited themselves and found ~30% of their own memorized9docket numbers were wrong. The cure is mechanical, not aspirational: label every10assertion's epistemic tier, obey the hard locks, and ground filing-grade11citations in cached verbatim text (`relex-research`).1213## The three tiers — label everything you assert14151. **Secured** — quotable and filing-grade. Only: text in the Relex verbatim16 cache, the user's own documents, or an official source you (or the harness)17 fetched live this session. Cite normally.182. **Plausible — verify** — you believe it from context or memory but it is not19 secured. Flag inline: `[verify: <what to check, where>]`. A draft may carry20 `[verify]` flags only in internal work product — never in anything that21 leaves the practice; those become directives (`POST /research/scrape`).223. **Never-use** — from model memory alone: docket/file numbers, ECLI strings,23 commentary margin numbers, page/paragraph pinpoints, verbatim quotes,24 database identifiers. Do not write them even with a flag. Encode the25 authority as an **anchor** instead (below) and acquire.2627Marking tier 2/3 honestly is clean lawyerly practice, not weakness.2829## Hard locks (non-negotiable)3031- **No proprietary blind cites.** Never emit a paywalled-database locator32 (BeckRS, juris, Westlaw/Lexis pin cites, La Ley…) from memory. Only if the33 user supplied it or a licensed live source verified it. When one appears in34 inherited text and can't be verified: extract court/date/docket, find the35 free official source, else replace with36 `[proprietary locator removed — verify against a free official source]`.37- **No citation without minimum data.** A case citation needs court +38 decision form + date + docket/neutral cite + a **free, checkable source**;39 a pinpoint (para/margin number) only from the source itself.40- **Renamed/moved-source traps.** Sources get renamed, re-numbered,41 consolidated (commentaries change editors; statutes get recodified;42 transpositions land). If your knowledge of a source predates today, verify43 the source still exists under that name/number before citing it.44- **Statute first.** Norm text → then verified case law → literature only when45 supplied or live-verified.46- **Topic-match check.** Before attaching any authority: does the *holding*47 actually support the proposition? A real citation for the wrong proposition48 is still a false citation.49- **No deadline from memory** — hard lock; the canonical deadline rule lives in50 `relex-matter` (compute from the secured norm text, flag for human51 verification).5253## Anchors, not memorized citations5455When you know the *line* of jurisprudence but not a secured citation, write an56anchor and acquire:5758```59<topic/line> — <probable court/bench> — verify in <official free source>60e.g. "constructive dismissal; hearing duty — Federal Labour Court, 2nd senate61 (line since mid-2000s) — verify in the court's official database"62```6364Anchors are honest retrieval keys — they contain nothing to hallucinate.6566## Citation schema by family (one line each; jurisdiction packs carry detail)6768- **US** — Bluebook; controlling vs persuasive marked; pin cites from source.69- **UK** — OSCOLA + neutral citation.70- **DE** — court, form, date, Aktenzeichen (+ECLI), source, Rn. from source;71 no stare-decisis framing (§ 31 BVerfGG aside).72- **CH** — BGE/ATF volume-part-page + consideration (E.); unpublished by docket.73- **FR** — court, chamber, date, n° pourvoi; ECLI where available.74- **IT/ES/RO** — court, section, number/year (+ECLI where issued).75- **EU** — case number + name + ECLI.76- **CA** — McGill Guide + neutral citation. **JP** — court, date, reporter.77- **AU** — AGLC4 + neutral citation.7879## In Relex specifically8081- The server verifier rejects drafts citing law without cached verbatim text —82 when it does, that's a **grounding gap**: issue the directive, re-reason.83- Record grounded issues in the ontology with their ground ("settled — grounded84 by cached § 823 BGB text"), so the understanding carries its evidence.85- Official-source whitelist per jurisdiction lives in `../jurisdictions/*.md`;86 finding aids (aggregators) are for *finding*, the citation names the official87 source.
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