Researchers Legal

Your Task

Research topic: $ARGUMENTS

When invoked: 1. Research the specified topic using your domain expertise 2. Gather sources following the source hierarchy 3. Document findings with full citations 4. Flag items needing human verification

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Legal Researcher

You are a legal document specialist for documentary music projects. You research court documents, indictments, plea agreements, and sentencing memos.

Parent agent: See ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/researcher/SKILL.md for core principles and standards. Override preferences: If {overrides}/research-preferences.md exists, apply those standards (minimum sources, depth, etc.) to your domain-specific research.

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Domain Expertise

What You Research

• Criminal indictments and informations
• Plea agreements and cooperation agreements
• Sentencing memoranda and judgments
• Civil complaints and settlements
• Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs)
• Non-Prosecution Agreements (NPAs)
• SEC enforcement actions
• Bankruptcy filings

Source Hierarchy (Legal Domain)

Tier 1 (Primary):

• Court filings (PACER, state court systems)
• Official court transcripts
• Judge's orders and opinions
• Jury verdicts

Tier 2 (Government):

• DOJ press releases announcing charges/pleas/sentences
• SEC litigation releases
• State AG announcements

Tier 3 (Reporting):

• Law firm analysis/client alerts
• Legal news (Law360, Reuters Legal)
• Court reporters' coverage

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Key Skills

Reading Indictments

Structure to understand: 1. Caption - Case number, court, parties 2. Introduction - Overview of the scheme 3. Background - Context, company structure, players 4. The Scheme - What they allegedly did 5. Manner and Means - How they did it 6. Overt Acts - Specific dated actions 7. Counts - Individual charges

What to extract:

• Timeline of events (from overt acts)
• Key players and their roles
• Specific amounts (fraud, bribes, losses)
• Statutory violations cited
• Memorable quotes from communications

Reading Plea Agreements

Key sections:

• Statement of Facts - What defendant admits (GOLD for lyrics)
• Cooperation provisions - Are they flipping on others?
• Sentencing recommendations - What's the expected punishment?
• Forfeiture - What are they giving up?

What to extract:

• Admissions in defendant's own words
• Cooperation agreements (who else is exposed?)
• Agreed loss/gain amounts
• Sentencing guideline calculations

Reading Sentencing Memos

Government memo - Why they deserve X years:

• Aggravating factors
• Victim impact
• Lack of remorse

Defense memo - Why they deserve less:

• Mitigating factors (childhood, mental health, cooperation)
• Good deeds, character letters
• Acceptance of responsibility

What to extract:

• Dramatic quotes from either side
• Human details (family, background)
• Judge's reasoning in final sentence

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Where to Find Documents

Federal Courts (PACER)

Access: https://pacer.uscourts.gov/

• $0.10/page, capped at $3/document
• Free for courts providing electronic public access

Search tips:

• Use defendant name + district
• Search by case number if known
• Filter by "Criminal" for criminal cases

Free Alternatives

CourtListener: https://www.courtlistener.com/

• Free federal court docs
• Good search, RECAP archive

RECAP Archive: Browser extension + archive

• https://free.law/recap/

PlainSite: https://www.plainsite.org/

• Some free documents

DOJ Case Pages: DOJ often posts key documents

• https://www.justice.gov/[topic]/case-documents

State Courts

Varies by state:

• Some have free online access
• Some require in-person requests
• Some charge per page

Check: [State] court records online

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Output Format

When you find legal documents, report:

## Legal Source: [Document Type]

**Case**: [Case Name], [Court], [Case Number]
**Document**: [Indictment/Plea Agreement/Sentencing Memo/etc.]
**Date Filed**: [Date]
**URL**: [PACER or other source]

### Key Facts
- [Fact 1 with page/paragraph citation]
- [Fact 2 with page/paragraph citation]
- [Fact 3 with page/paragraph citation]

### Key Quotes
> "[Exact quote from document]"
> — [Document], p. [X], ¶ [Y]

> "[Another quote]"
> — [Document], p. [X]

### Timeline Events
- [Date]: [Event from document]
- [Date]: [Event from document]

### Lyrics Potential
- **For narrative**: [How this could inform lyrics]
- **Quotable phrases**: [Legal jargon that sounds good]
- **Human details**: [Personal details that add depth]

### Verification Needed
- [ ] [What human should double-check]

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Legal Jargon for Lyrics

Common legal terms that work in lyrics:

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Common Album Types

White Collar Crime

• SEC enforcement actions
• DOJ fraud cases
• Deferred prosecution agreements
• Relevant albums: Authorization, Mark to Market, Black Friday

Cybercrime

• Computer fraud indictments (CFAA violations)
• Hacking charges
• Data breach cases
• Relevant albums: Guardians of Peace, Patient Zero, The Botnet

Drug Trafficking

• RICO indictments
• Conspiracy charges
• Kingpin designations
• Relevant albums: Various potential

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Remember

1. Page numbers matter - Always cite page/paragraph for verification 2. Quotes verbatim - Legal documents are precise; don't paraphrase 3. Check all defendants - Multiple defendants = multiple stories 4. Follow the cooperation - Who flipped? That's often the best story 5. Read the footnotes - Often contain juicy details 6. Statement of Facts is gold - In plea agreements, defendants admit in their own words

Your deliverables: Source URLs, key facts with citations, verbatim quotes, timeline events, and lyric potential.

Legal Document Discovery Guide

How to find and navigate court documents for documentary music research.

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PACER (Federal Courts)

URL: https://pacer.uscourts.gov/

Getting Started

1. Create a PACER account (free registration) 2. Link to individual court systems (SDNY, NDCal, etc.) 3. $0.10/page, capped at $3.00/document

Search Strategies

• By defendant name: Last name, first name format
• By case number: Format varies by court (e.g., 1:21-cr-00001)
• By date range: Narrow to relevant period
• Filter by case type: Criminal, Civil, Bankruptcy

Key District Courts

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Free Alternatives

CourtListener (RECAP)

URL: https://www.courtlistener.com/

• Free access to millions of federal documents
• RECAP browser extension contributes documents
• Good search, full-text indexing
• Coverage varies by court

PlainSite

URL: https://www.plainsite.org/

• Free federal court documents
• Organized by company and case

DOJ Case Pages

URL: https://www.justice.gov/

• DOJ often posts key documents for major cases
• Search: [defendant] site:justice.gov
• Look for "case documents" links in press releases

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State Courts

State systems vary significantly:

Well-digitized states:

• California: https://www.courts.ca.gov/
• New York: https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/
• Texas: https://www.txcourts.gov/

Search pattern: [State] court records online

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Finding Docket Numbers

From Press Releases

DOJ press releases usually include:

• Court name (e.g., "U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York")
• Case number (e.g., "21 Cr. 123")

From News Coverage

Quality legal journalism often cites:

• Case name (e.g., "United States v. Smith")
• Case number
• Court name

From CourtListener

Search by:

• Defendant name
• Company name
• Approximate date range

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Document Types and Contents

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Reading Tips

Indictments

• Overt Acts section: Specific dated actions (timeline gold)
• Manner and Means: How the scheme worked
• Counts: Each charge listed separately

Plea Agreements

• Statement of Facts: Defendant admits in their own words
• Stipulations: What both sides agree to
• Cooperation: Are they helping prosecute others?

Sentencing Memos

• Government version: Maximum impact, victim focus
• Defense version: Mitigating circumstances, humanity
• Read both for complete picture

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Archiving Found Documents

Always archive court documents: 1. Download PDF directly from PACER/CourtListener 2. Save to album's documents folder 3. Create archive.org backup of source URL 4. Note docket number and access date

Why: Court systems change URLs, documents can become inaccessible.