Builder
Free for five citations · unlimited with All-AccessCite Check
Writing tools can invent a case, with a plausible name, a court and a citation. Paste a text and see every citation in it, which ones are impossible on their face, and which ones you must still find and read before anyone relies on them.
- You bring
- A brief, a memo or an AI answer that contains case citations
- You get
- A list of the citations, what looks wrong in each, and the checks you must still do yourself
Your workbench
What this does and does not do.
It finds citations in the text you paste and checks that each one is well formed and possible. It compares them with a closed list of well-known decisions. It does not look anything up and cannot tell you that a case exists: a citation that is not on the list is unverified, not false. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere, but still do not paste privileged text on a shared computer.
Free: the first 5 citations in a text. All-Access checks every citation and gives you a report to download.
How to use it
- Step 1
Paste the text
Paste any text with US reporter citations or UK neutral citations. Try the invented example to see the kinds of problem it finds.
- Step 2
Read the flags
A reporter that did not exist in that year, a page before the first page, a name that does not belong to those numbers: these can be seen without looking anything up.
- Step 3
Verify the rest yourself
A well-formed citation proves nothing. Every citation has to be found in an official or trusted source and read.
What it is good for
Checking an AI draft before it goes anywhere
A fast first pass that catches the careless and the impossible, and reminds you what the real check involves.
Reviewing a junior’s or a student’s work
See at once which citations have a problem on their face and which must be traced.
Learning how citations are built
Seeing why a citation cannot be right teaches how volume, reporter, page and year fit together.
Questions
Does it tell me whether a case exists?
No. It looks nothing up. It can say that a citation is impossible, or that it contradicts a well-known decision on our list, but a citation that is not on the list is simply unverified. Find the decision in an official or trusted source.
What does ‘matches a well-known decision’ mean?
The name, volume, page and year agree with a decision on our closed list of landmark United States Supreme Court cases. It does not mean the decision says what the text claims. Read it.
Which citations does it read?
United States reporter citations, such as 123 F.3d 456 (9th Cir. 1999), and neutral citations used in the United Kingdom, such as [2011] EWCA Civ 482. Statutes, other countries’ citations and law-report series are not read; check those by hand.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Still, do not paste privileged material on a shared computer.
Is it legal advice?
No. It is a checking aid. It does not replace reading the authority, and you remain responsible for what you file or advise.
More builders
The Cite Check is a teaching and checking aid. It reads the form of citations and compares them with a short list of well-known decisions. It does not confirm that any case exists or says what a text claims, and a citation it does not flag may still be wrong. Always find and read every authority yourself.