26. Pleadings, Discovery, Exhibits, and Transcripts

26.1 Build a document-level record

Keep the case, court, docket number, document title, filing date, docket-entry number, attachment identifier, and internal locator. Not every field belongs in every repeated citation, but all should be recoverable. Distinguish what a pleading alleges from what evidence establishes. A complaint paragraph proves that an allegation was made; it does not, by itself, prove the allegation true.

26.2 Preserve competing page systems

A filed exhibit may carry original page numbers, an electronic filing stamp, Bates numbers, and the PDF viewer's count. Decide which coordinate the receiving rules require and tell the reader which one you use. A reference to page 12 is unreliable when three visible page systems each have a different page 12.

Where needed, pair locators: an exhibit designation identifies the item, and a Bates or record page identifies the passage. Use the shortest combination that remains precise. Recheck after the appendix is assembled because inserting a cover sheet can change viewer counts without changing printed pages.

26.3 Cite deposition testimony at line level

Record witness name, deposition date, volume where applicable, and page-and-line ranges. Separate nonconsecutive passages. A citation spanning fifteen pages can conceal where the supporting answer appears. Check the question as well as the answer; an isolated “yes” does not identify the proposition accepted.

An errata sheet can affect the quoted answer. Preserve it and assess its role in context. A rough transcript, certified transcript, and video recording are distinct source versions. Do not interchange their coordinates without verification.

26.4 Distinguish discovery response types

Identify the request set, request number, responding party, response date, and relevant amendment or supplement. An interrogatory response and a response to a request for admission can have different procedural significance. The citation should name the document accurately; the governing law determines its effect.

26.5 Use evidence for the precise claim

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) addresses supporting factual positions with citations to particular parts of materials in the record and related objections. The citation task is therefore specific: identify the material and the particular supporting portion. Citation accuracy does not resolve admissibility or whether the record establishes the asserted fact. Official Civil Rules, rule 56(c).

Fictional repair. “The manager approved the change. Ex. 4.” becomes “The manager wrote ‘approved’ in the June 8 email. Ex. 4 at ORCHARD_000128.” The revised wording narrows the claim to what the document says; a legal conclusion about authority to approve still needs analysis.