> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://vaquill.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Verification steps

> Detect fabricated case citations, and drop synthesis findings that reference documents outside the input set

Two steps, both deterministic. They exist because AI steps fail in two specific, catchable ways: inventing authorities, and inventing document references.

Neither step is optional in practice. Any chain with an AI drafting step should end with Verify Citations; any chain with a Cross-Doc Synthesis should follow it with Verify Synthesis.

***

## Verify Citations

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Kind" icon="calculator">Deterministic</Card>
  <Card title="Latency" icon="gauge">Medium</Card>
</CardGroup>

Detects fabricated case citations in a body of text. **Run it after any AI drafting step that quotes case law, and before exporting or saving.**

**Config**

| Field         | Type      | Required | Notes                                                                                                                             |
| ------------- | --------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Text to check | Long text | Yes      | Up to 200,000 characters. Use the upstream-output picker to wire the body from a Generate Legal Draft or Summarize Document step. |

**Outputs**

| Field               | Contents                                                                     |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Has Fabricated Case | Boolean. **The natural branch condition:** route to a rework path when true. |
| Fabricated Count    | How many.                                                                    |
| Flagged             | The specific citations that failed, so you can check them by hand.           |

<Tip>
  Branch on Has Fabricated Case rather than just logging it. A workflow that exports a DOCX regardless of the verification result has verified nothing useful.
</Tip>

***

## Verify Synthesis

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Kind" icon="calculator">Deterministic</Card>
  <Card title="Latency" icon="bolt">Fast</Card>
</CardGroup>

Drops synthesis findings that reference documents outside the actual input set. This catches the common failure mode where a synthesizer, working from summaries rather than raw documents, invents a document reference.

**Config**

| Field                 | Type | Required | Notes                                                                                                                                |
| --------------------- | ---- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Synthesis             | Dict | Yes      | Wire from an upstream Cross-Doc Synthesis step.                                                                                      |
| Per-document findings | Dict | No       | The findings that fed the synthesis. Wire Findings By Filename from Build and Run Matrix, or the equivalent from Extract Chronology. |

**Outputs**

| Field             | Contents                                                           |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Cleaned Synthesis | The sanitized synthesis. **Use this downstream, not the raw one.** |
| Dropped Count     | How many findings were removed.                                    |
| Dropped Findings  | Which ones, so a persistent pattern is visible rather than silent. |

<Note>
  The equivalent pass runs automatically inside every matrix-backed built-in workflow. This step is the standalone version for custom chains, where you assemble the synthesis yourself.
</Note>

***

## Wiring both together

The canonical verified portfolio chain:

```
Pick Documents
  → Wait For Document Ingestion
  → Build and Run Matrix
  → Cross-Doc Synthesis        (reads Answers By Question By Doc)
  → Verify Synthesis           (reads Findings By Filename, emits Cleaned Synthesis)
  → Export DOCX Report         (reads Cleaned Synthesis)
```

And the verified drafting chain:

```
Search US Case Law
  → Generate Legal Draft
  → Verify Citations           (reads Body Markdown)
  → [branch on Has Fabricated Case]
  → Export DOCX Report
```

***

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Answer verification" icon="circle-check" href="/docs/guides/answer-verification">
    The wider verification story across Vaquill, beyond workflows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Branching and loops" icon="code-branch" href="/docs/workflows/builder/branching-and-loops">
    Routing on a verification result instead of ignoring it.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>