Retrieved snippets are pointers back to sources, not legal answers. Honesty note: simplified toy corpus; jurisdictions vary; the pinned first step states the as-of date; not legal advice; retrieval points to sources and does not answer the legal question.
highlighted = computed this step
Retrieval honesty note
Honesty note: simplified toy corpus; jurisdictions vary; as of June 24, 2026; not legal advice; retrieval points to sources and does not answer the legal question.
toy corpus as of June24,2026
Retrieve, then inspect the source
The stated process separates retrieval from reading. Retrieval can point to a record, but human review still reads the source text.
retrieve→read source
Example pointer
The query is deadline calendar. The supporting pointer cites Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(1).
pointer count=1
Snippet text is provenance
The model derives a snippet from the matching record and shows it in the table. That snippet is a source pointer only.
support rows=1
Diagram note
The diagram keeps match rows, snippets, and support count visible so the reader can audit the source pointer.
retrieved row is a pointer
Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-06-24; not legal advice; Code encodes the stated-rule interpretation.
Summary
A RAG system should treat retrieval as opening a cited record, not as completing legal analysis.