Bates-stamped exhibit
Original research draft · October 2026
Working pattern
[Exhibit designation], [Bates identifier or range].
Capture from the source
Exhibit; document identity; production; exact Bates range; page map
Check before you use it
Confirm the identifier on the actual exhibit in the delivered record.
Common error: A production range can include multiple unrelated documents.
Completed example
Exhibit, log, production, Bates stamps, and page maps are fictional. The example does not authenticate a real record or establish the truth of an entry.
Ex. 14, Inspection Log, TRAIN-CEDAR-00422.
Read the supplied source facts
Fictional packet TRAIN-D55 includes Exhibit 14, a three-page inspection log produced with Bates identifiers TRAIN-CEDAR-00421 through TRAIN-CEDAR-00423. The relevant entry appears on TRAIN-CEDAR-00422. The wider production range 00400–00480 also includes emails, invoices, and an unrelated draft plan. A working PDF merges the production into one file and places the relevant page at viewer position 57. The delivered exhibit uses the same Bates stamps but starts its own viewer count at 1. The assignment asks for the log entry as it appears in the delivered exhibit.
Why this works
The exhibit designation and exact Bates identifier locate the page without relying on a viewer count that changes when files are assembled. Including the document identity helps the reader distinguish the log from other materials in the production. The broad 00400–00480 range would force the reader through unrelated documents and might imply reliance on all of them. Confirm the visible stamp on the actual delivered exhibit, because a production index or draft exhibit list can contain transcription errors. Record the relationship among original production, exhibit number, and final record location so later renumbering can be repaired systematically.
When the facts change
If the entry continues onto TRAIN-CEDAR-00423, cite the two-page range after reading both pages. If an exhibit is replaced by a clearer copy with different stamps, preserve the mapping and identify the version actually supplied to the reader. If two productions reuse a numeric sequence with different prefixes, retain the full prefix; shortening the identifier to 00422 would erase the distinction between separate documents.
Apply the receiving court or publication’s requirements. These working forms do not establish citation permission, precedential weight, or support for a legal proposition.