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Record workflows for criminal defense

Testing the State's evidence, sequencing the timeline precisely, and surfacing reliability and disclosure issues. Every prompt below assembles with this practice's emphasis already composed in — pick a workflow and add only the assignment details needed, using neutral labels where possible.

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A criminal defense prompt, end to end

The configured criminal defense lens adds this practice context to the template: This work product supports the defense of the accused: testing the reliability and completeness of the State's evidence and protecting the client's rights.

CasePrompts composes that emphasis into every prompt for this practice. Here is one complete, copy-ready example: the “Map every State witness against their priors” workflow using mixed / full case record as the source type, with the criminal defense emphasis already built in. It pastes into any AI tool as is.

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Map every State witness against their priors · Mixed / full case record

Synthetic example: Names, dates, organizations, and matter details are fictional placeholders, not a real case record.

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CONTEXT:
You are a litigation support analyst assisting criminal defense counsel in a aggravated battery prosecution matter. The attached materials are: (1) the certified deposition transcript of Jordan Lee, a State eyewitness, and (2) the witness's prior statements: the police interview, sworn statement, and deposition transcript. The issues that matter are: lighting conditions; distance; sequence of events; identification. This work product supports the defense of the accused: testing the reliability and completeness of the State's evidence and protecting the client's rights.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Compare the deposition testimony against each prior statement, fact by fact. Identify every place the accounts diverge and classify each divergence as exactly one of:
- DIRECT CONTRADICTION — the statements cannot both be true.
- MATERIAL OMISSION — a fact asserted in one account is absent from the other where it would naturally appear.
- SHIFTED DETAIL — timing, sequence, distance, speed, or identity changed between accounts.
Then, for each DIRECT CONTRADICTION and SHIFTED DETAIL, draft a two-step cross-examination sequence: first a lock-in question committing the witness to the deposition testimony, then a confrontation question presenting the prior statement, each with its cite.

In this engagement, additionally: Compare every State witness account against every other account and against the physical evidence; small shifts in distance, lighting, timing, and sequence matter and must be captured, not smoothed over.

TEMPLATE — format your output exactly as follows:
## Divergence map
| # | Topic | Deposition account (verbatim + cite) | Prior statement account (verbatim + source + cite) | Classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
## Cross-examination sequences
For each qualifying divergence:
**Divergence #__ — [topic]**
- Lock-in: "[question]" (commits witness to: [depo cite])
- Confront: "[question]" (prior statement: [source + cite])
## Consistencies that hurt us
Briefly list facts the witness has stated consistently across all accounts, with cites — these are the points cross should avoid.

EVIDENCE REQUIREMENTS:
For every finding, identify the source document by name and cite page:line for transcripts, timestamps for audio/video, and Bates/page for documents. Every divergence requires two citations — one per source — and verbatim language from both. If a prior statement referenced in the materials list was not actually provided, say so explicitly rather than working from assumptions. Do not classify a divergence as a DIRECT CONTRADICTION unless the verbatim language supports it; when in doubt, classify down to SHIFTED DETAIL and flag it under "Borderline — attorney review."

If the provided record does not support a requested finding, write "not found in the record." Do not infer or fill gaps from outside knowledge.
The scope is limited to the requested task, stated issues, and provided record. Do not introduce outside subjects or sources.
A human reviewer must verify every material statement and citation against the source record before relying on or sharing the output.

Every template in the library assembles like this for criminal defense — open the builder and add only the assignment details needed, using neutral labels where possible, or read the Attorney's Guide to AI Prompting for the method behind it.

How criminal defense practitioners should brief an AI

How does the CasePrompts criminal defense lens approach extract key testimony?
Prioritize inconsistencies among State witnesses, statements bearing on identification reliability and observation conditions, language suggesting suggestive procedures, and references to evidence or recordings not found in the production.
How does the CasePrompts criminal defense lens approach build a chronology?
Build the timeline to the minute wherever the record allows — who knew what when, when warnings were given, when searches and seizures occurred. Precise sequence is frequently the entire defense.
How does the CasePrompts criminal defense lens approach find contradictions?
Compare every State witness account against every other account and against the physical evidence; small shifts in distance, lighting, timing, and sequence matter and must be captured, not smoothed over.
How does the CasePrompts criminal defense lens approach summarize the record?
Organize by element of each charged offense, noting which elements rest on a single witness, where corroboration is absent, and where the record is silent.
How does the CasePrompts criminal defense lens approach draft from the record?
Build examination sequences that commit witnesses to specifics before any confrontation, and never embed a factual premise the discovery does not contain.
How does the CasePrompts criminal defense lens approach interrogate the file?
In every answer, note whether the supporting material came from the State's production and flag anything referenced in the record that does not appear to have been produced.

Deep dives for criminal defense

Worked examples — each pairs a template with this practice's emphasis, end to end.

More template guides for criminal defense

Read the clean, general guide for each curated workflow below. To apply the Criminal defense context to your own facts, use the builder actions above.