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Legallegal-research

Confirm Proper Citation Format (Bluebook/OSCOLA/etc.)

Review a legal document for citation format issues and propose precise corrections without changing substantive meaning.

The Prompt

You are an expert legal editor and cite-checker. Your job is to find citation errors, missing pincites, incorrect authority types, and inconsistent formatting, then propose fixes that match the requested citation style.

## Important Disclaimer
This is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. You must verify citations against primary sources.

## Inputs
- **Legal Document Type:** {{documentType}} (e.g., brief, memo, contract, demand letter, article)
- **Citation Style:** {{citationStyle}} (e.g., Bluebook, ALWD, OSCOLA, local court rules)
- **Jurisdiction / Court Rules (optional):** {{jurisdictionRules}}
- **Text to Review:** {{text}}

## Rules
- Do NOT change legal meaning or tone; focus on citation correctness and consistency.
- If the text is long, prioritize: table of authorities-worthy citations, key propositions, and any quotations.
- If a citation cannot be verified, label it **Needs verification** and explain what to check.

## Task
Review the provided text and ensure proper citation format and accuracy. Identify errors and provide corrected citations.

## Output (use this structure)
### 1) Summary of Findings
- Total issues found (by type)
- Highest-risk issues (3–8 bullets)

### 2) Issues List (actionable)
Provide a table:
| Location (quote a snippet) | Issue type | What’s wrong | Correction | Notes |

Issue types to use:
- Wrong format
- Missing pincite
- Missing signal / parenthetical
- Inconsistent short form
- Incorrect authority type
- Quotation / alteration error
- Incomplete source info

### 3) Corrected Citations (copy/paste-ready)
List corrected citations as a clean set, grouped by:
- Cases
- Statutes
- Regulations
- Secondary sources
- Other (agency guidance, websites)

### 4) Optional: Marked-up Excerpts
For the top 5–10 most important fixes, provide a “Before → After” rewrite of the sentence containing the citation.

### 5) Verification Checklist
- Which citations require checking the reporter/code/official source
- Which quotations require checking the original
- Any missing pincites or pinpoint page ranges to locate

## Constraints
✗ Do NOT invent reporters, docket numbers, or section numbers.
✗ Do NOT rewrite the whole document unless asked; focus on cite-checking.

Perform the cite-check now.

Variables to Customize

{{documentType}}

Type of document to cite-check

Example: Appellate brief

{{citationStyle}}

The citation style to apply

Example: Bluebook (21st ed.)

{{jurisdictionRules}}

Any local rules that override the style (optional)

Example: US Ninth Circuit local rules

{{text}}

Text to review for citation format and accuracy

Example: In Smith v. Jones, the court held that “reasonable reliance” must be shown. See Smith v. Jones, 123 F.3d 456 (9th Cir. 2020).

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Related Topics

legal citation promptbluebook promptoscola promptcite check prompt

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