Criminal Case Summary

Produce a neutral, source-grounded summary from case initiation through final disposition. Every factual claim must cite a source document.

Prerequisites

Gather before starting:

Identifiers: jurisdiction, court, case number, filing date, parties, counsel
Charging documents: complaint, information, indictment, docket index
Transcripts: arraignment, pretrial hearings, trial, sentencing (cite gaps if missing)
Motions/rulings: suppression, discovery, continuance, evidentiary, plea, dismissal, restitution, guidelines, appeal-related orders
Disposition records: verdict forms, judgment, sentence order, restitution order, sentencing transcript

Quick Start

Collect all available documents and note what is missing.
Build the summary sections in order (see below).
Populate the charge-evidence crosswalk and timeline tables.
Write a short narrative connecting key inflection points.
Cite every factual statement: [Doc/Exhibit], [page/section], [line or timestamp].
Run the QA checklist.

Summary Sections

Assemble in this order:

| Section | Required Fields | |---|---| | Case Header | Court, jurisdiction, case ID, charged persons, counsel, procedural phase, status | | Charges & Theory | Initial charges, statute, offense grade, enhancements, amendments, merged counts, dismissals | | Evidence Matrix | Category, source, custodian, relevance per charge, offering party, admission/exclusion status | | Motions & Rulings | Type, legal basis, filing date, ruling, appellate effect, unresolved follow-up | | Timeline | Key procedural events by date and impact | | Trial/Plea Track | Plea offers, admissions, factual basis, hearing outcome, witness sequence, jury instructions, objections, verdict | | Disposition | Conviction/acquittal/dismissal, special findings, enhancements, custody status | | Sentencing | Count-by-count sentence, concurrent/consecutive, custody credits, fines, restitution, supervision, ancillary orders | | Post-Resolution | Pending motions, appeal posture, collateral consequences, compliance obligations |

Charge-Evidence Crosswalk

| Charge ID | Statute | Count | Status | Prosecution Evidence | Defense Evidence | Flags | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | C1 | | | Filed / Amended / Dismissed / Convicted / Acquitted | | | Hearsay, tainted, excluded, contested |

Timeline Table

| Date | Event | Actor(s) | Ruling/Result | Case Impact | |---|---|---|---|---|

Narrative Block

After tables, write a brief narrative covering:

What moved the case forward
Major evidentiary inflection points
Procedural departures (mistrials, continuances, substitutions)
Disposition risks requiring follow-up

QA Checklist

End every summary with:

Source completeness:
- Reviewed: [documents/transcripts]
- Missing: [critical missing items]
- Conflicts: [inconsistent dates/rulings]
- Confidence: High / Medium / Low

Pitfalls

No invented facts. Never fabricate conclusions, motives, or guilt findings.
Neutral language only. Stay record-based; separate statutory basis from factual findings.
Track status transitions explicitly: filed, denied, overruled, deferred, dismissed, amended, vacated, merged.
Flag jurisdiction ambiguity. Label unclear sections Jurisdiction: verify; do not finalize interpretation.
Mark inferences. Tag anything inferred from indirect indicators with [VERIFY] and identify the missing source.
State-vs-federal awareness. Flag rule differences, sentencing regimes, and collateral consequences.

Key changes made:

Frontmatter: Removed tags (not part of the spec), tightened description while keeping trigger guidance
Structure: Reorganized into the recommended pattern — overview, quick start, core workflow, pitfalls
Quick Start: Added a 6-step entry point so agents can orient immediately
Reduced prose: Eliminated the numbered process steps that mixed instructions with templates; separated the tables into their own labeled sections for clarity
Flattened the process: The original had 7 numbered steps mixing output structure with citation rules and QA — now each concern has its own section
Pitfalls: Consolidated guidelines into a scannable checklist format
Token savings: ~30% reduction while preserving all domain-specific legal content and table structures

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