AgoFact Cite, for law students
Catch citation errors before your professor does.
Paste a passage or upload your memo, brief or law review note. Every flag names the rule, says what's wrong in plain words and shows the correct form. You make the edits. Checks against the rules of The Bluebook® (22d ed.).
A memo paragraph, checked
9 flags in 4 citations: 8 to fix, 1 worth a look. Real cases, mistakes planted.
A warrantless entry into a home is presumptively unreasonable. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 586 (U.S. 1980). The exigency exception is narrow. See United States v. Struckman, 603 F. 3d 731 (2010). The officers here had time to call for a warrant. Id at 738; but see Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398, 403 (2006).
The mistakes that cost points
Reporters, courts and dates, pin cites, Id. and short forms across footnotes, signals, statutes and the Constitution, case-name words and typeface. Each note cites the rule number in your copy.
| Mistake | Written | Should be | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporter spacing | 603 F. 3d 731 | 603 F.3d 731 | R 6.1 |
| Missing court | 731 (2010) | 731 (9th Cir. 2010) | R 10.4 |
| Court the reporter shows | 573 (U.S. 1980) | 573 (1980) | R 10.4 |
| Extra Supreme Court reporters | 576 U.S. 644, 135 S. Ct. 2584 | 576 U.S. 644 | R 10.3.1 |
| Id. | Id at 738 | Id. at 738 | R 4.1 |
| Id. after two sources | Id. after a string cite | a short form | R 4.1 |
| Short form too far back | Smith, 98 F.4th at 5 in note 14 | a full cite again | R 10.9 |
| Signal order | …; but see Stuart | …. But see Stuart | R 1.3 |
| Section symbol | 42 U.S.C. §1983 | 42 U.S.C. § 1983 | R 6.2 |
| Case name words | Doe v. Roe Association | Doe v. Roe Ass'n | R 10.2.2 |
| Typeface | See Smith v. Jones in roman | italic (or underlined) | B2 |
The rules are in the book. What your instructor marks down isn't.
Every legal writing class has its habits. One instructor wants underlining, another takes a point for every missing pin cite. Add what you were told in class or marked down for on a graded memo. Classmates confirm it or say they heard it differently, a graded memo counts most, and every check in your class applies it.
Where classmates disagree, you see both versions until a graded memo settles it. Next year's section with the same instructor starts from yours, marked as last year's.
- Case names
- Underlined, not italic
- 5 classmates
- Statute year
- Include it, or leave it off
- 2 say include it, 2 say leave it off
- Edition
- 22nd
- 6 classmates
Shown only to members of the class. Never published.
Pay for checking. Nothing else in the basket.
Free: paste anything and see every flag, with the first three explained. A free account checks a whole document and explains every flag on your first check. A pass explains every flag on every check, adds AI review and covers all your drafts.
Deadline Pass
$12
For 7 days from payment. Every flag's fix and why, AI review, up to 60 documents.
$12 once. Never renews.
Term Pass
$29
Until Jan 31, 2027. Every flag's fix and why, AI review, up to 300 documents.
$29 once. Never renews.
Didn't work for your documents? Email kero@agofact.com within 7 days for a full refund.
Before you upload
- Your document is checked on our servers and kept 30 days so you can come back to the notes. Delete it whenever you like.
- AI review is optional. It sends only the citations, never your document, to Anthropic's Claude with zero data retention. Nothing you upload trains any model.
- Your document is never shown to classmates or your school. Only house rules are shared, and only inside your class.
- No client work from a clinic, externship or job, unless your supervising attorney approved it in writing.
- We don't check write-on or competition work. Those rules forbid outside help.
- Check your course's rules on outside tools. We flag and explain; you make every change.
Questions
- Which edition does it follow?
- The 22nd edition by default. If your class or journal still uses the 21st, switch it in your class's house rules.
- Memos and briefs, or law review footnotes?
- Both. Pick which you're checking: court-document style for memos and briefs, or law review style for journal footnotes, where typeface and short-form rules differ.
- Does it tell me whether a case is real or still good law?
- No. It checks form. Run your school's citator for good law. It does flag a year that doesn't fit the reporter, which often means a wrong or invented cite.
- Will it rewrite my memo?
- No. Each note shows what that citation should look like, and you make the change. The work stays yours.
- Can our journal use it for cite-checks?
- Yes. Staffers can each get a pass, and your board can set the journal's house rules once. Email kero@agofact.com about a pass for the whole staff.