Review workflow
How to find key statements in criminal discovery
You remember the statement. Build a reliable way to find it, check its context, and return to it without retracing the whole file.
On this page
To find and revisit key statements in criminal discovery, connect a searchable note to a stable source and an exact location. For documents, save the page. For recordings, save the elapsed start and end times. Keep the original filename, version, and surrounding context so the reference still works when someone else opens the case.
Make a small source map before searching
Keep the original production intact. In working notes, give each source a short reference such as R-01 for a report or I-02 for an interview. Record the original filename, production date, and version beside it. A friendly label is useful only if it points back to the original item.
For a document with printed page numbers that differ from the PDF viewer, record both: “PDF page 12; printed page 9.” For media, record elapsed playback time and identify the file. “Eight minutes in” is incomplete when the folder contains several recordings.
Search for the account, not just the remembered phrase
Begin with distinctive words, a person's name, a location, or the event you remember. Try alternate spellings and related wording. A witness may say “the side entrance” where a report says “north door.” A transcript may mishear a name.
When a search returns nothing, check whether the relevant file was actually read or transcribed. Searchable text can omit faint scans, handwriting, or unclear audio. A missing result is a reason to inspect coverage and the originals, not proof that the statement was never made.
Check who said it and what came around it
Open the source before copying the passage into a finding. Read the preceding question and following answer, or replay enough of the recording to understand the exchange. Keep an uncertain speaker uncertain until there is a basis for identification.
Label exact quotations separately from summaries. If your notes correct a transcription error, retain the original transcript and explain the correction. The working note should make it possible to repeat the check.
Turn a vague note into a usable source trail
Vague note: Witness couldn’t see the hands.
| Field | Completed working entry |
|---|---|
| Source | I-02; original interview-02.mp4; production received October 8; version 1. |
| Location | Elapsed 00:08:05–00:08:22. Displayed clock not used. |
| Exact quotation | “I couldn’t see his hands from there.” |
| Context | The preceding question asks what the witness could see from across the street. |
| What it supports | The witness described a limit on their view. It does not establish what the hands were doing. |
| Review status | Checked against the audio by Reviewer A; identity linked to the interview introduction. |
| Next question | Does another source show the same moment from a different position? |
Test the reference before the handoff
Give the entry to another reviewer without additional directions. Can they identify the original file, reach the same passage, and distinguish the quotation from your interpretation? If they cannot, fix the reference while the review is fresh.
A plain table can hold this record. A dedicated review tool can make the source navigation more direct. Evaluate the actual task: open the source behind a finding, inspect context, and return to the working question. Do not judge the workflow only by the quality of one generated paragraph.
Keep references usable when files change
A replacement PDF may shift pagination; an edited recording may shift elapsed time. Keep the original version reference, mark the newer file, and recheck affected notes before reusing their locations. Avoid silently transferring timestamps between versions.
Continue with the body-camera workflow for recording comparisons or the evidence matrix for connecting passages to a charge-level question.
Common questions
How do you find a statement in a large discovery production?
Start with the likely speaker, event, or file; search extracted document text and transcripts using distinctive phrases and alternative wording. Check the original at each promising result. If search fails, inspect file coverage and review the relevant originals rather than concluding the statement is absent.
What should a timestamped review note include?
Include the original file or stable reference, version, elapsed start and end time, the speaker or uncertainty about identity, the quote or summary, and enough context for another reviewer to check it.
Why can a transcript search miss a statement?
Speech may be inaudible, overlapping, misheard, or described with different words. A file may also be unprocessed or incompletely transcribed. Search results must be interpreted with those limits in mind.