Check citations

Check a Citation or Quoted Sentence

Use AI for verification work without letting it silently invent the result.

You will know how to ask for a citation lookup, quote check, and source-support note.

The safest mental model

Citation and quote checking is a narrow task. That is good. Narrow tasks are easier to verify, easier to repeat, and easier to explain to someone else.

Ask the assistant to show whether the citation resolves, whether the quoted language appears in the source, and whether the surrounding context changes the meaning.

Try this prompt

Citation and quote check
Use Descrybe Legal Engine to check this citation and quoted language: [citation and quote]. First resolve the case citation. Then compare the quote against the source text. Tell me whether the quoted language appears exactly, appears with differences, or cannot be verified from available source text. Also note whether the surrounding context changes the meaning.

Example checks to try

These examples are narrower than the authority-finding examples. Here, you are testing whether a specific citation, quotation, or legal proposition holds up.

A good check may come back with "yes," "no," "partly," or "the source does not prove that." That is the point.

  • Citation support: "Do Twombly and Iqbal support the proposition that a complaint must prove each element with evidence at the pleading stage?"
  • Quote check: "Verify whether Miranda v. Arizona uses the phrase 'right to remain silent' and explain the surrounding context."
  • Client intake style: "A demand letter cites 15 U.S.C. § 1692g and says a debt collector must stop all collection activity forever after a dispute. Check what the statute actually requires."
  • Draft review: "This memo says eBay Inc. v. MercExchange abolished permanent injunctions in patent cases. Check whether that proposition is supported and what the case actually changed."

What not to ask for

  • Do not ask the assistant to "certify" a brief.
  • Do not mix citation checking with broad legal strategy in the same prompt.
  • Do not treat unavailable source text as verification.
  • Do not ignore context when a quote is technically accurate but misleading.

Ask follow-up questions

AI research is not one prompt and done. A big part of the skill is asking targeted follow-up questions about any case, citation, quote, or legal proposition the assistant gives you.

Think of the assistant as an instant research assistant you can keep directing. If a result mentions a case you do not recognize, ask what it was about. If a case looks important, ask for details, treatment, source text, or a quote check. If a proposition feels too broad, ask what source actually supports it.

  • "Why did you include [case name], and what specific issue or proposition does it support?"
  • "Give me the case details for [case name]: court, date, posture, key facts, holding, and why it matters here."
  • "Is [case name] still good law for [specific proposition]? Check treatment and explain any limits."
  • "Compare [case A] and [case B]. Which is more useful for my jurisdiction and fact pattern?"
  • "What authority cuts the other way?"
  • "Show me the source text that supports that sentence, and tell me whether the quote or proposition needs narrowing."
  • "What should I search or check next before relying on this?"