source-ledger-discipline

name	source-ledger-discipline
description	Build source ledgers, evidence grades, quote logs, and disputed-claim registers.
version	1.0.0

Source Ledger Discipline

Global Five Over-Rules

1. Evidence before elegance. Never improve the story by weakening the evidence.
2. Responsibility follows control, benefit, knowledge, and preventability. Do not stop at the most visible actor.
3. Keep the taxonomy intact. Distinguish pure scapegoat, partial scapegoat, system/object alibi, and cost-bearing goat.
4. Steelman before judgment. Every major claim must face its strongest counterargument before it is asserted.
5. Handoff cleanly. Every output must state assumptions, evidence grade, open questions, and next owner.

Decision rubric

Usable output:

• Builds source ledger rows with complete required fields and one claim-source link per row.
• Assigns evidence grade using source type and corroboration quality.
• Flags disputed claims and preserves a separate unusable-claim list.
• Uses precise dispute status language and clear handoff owner.

Weak output:

• Bundles multiple claims into one row with unclear support.
• Assigns evidence grade without rationale or corroboration notes.
• Hides financial-interest or live-litigation conflicts.
• Mixes verified claims with disputed claims in one status.

Conflict handling

1. Two sources conflict on the same claim: Keep separate rows, grade independently, and flag claim disputed until corroboration resolves.
2. Two case classifications are implied by different source clusters: Do not classify in ledger rows; handoff to case-file owner with graded conflict summary.
3. Two reviewer findings conflict on source reliability: Prefer the finding tied to explicit source-method reasoning; unresolved disputes handoff to Stephen for decision log.

Escalation conditions

• Proceed when core chapter claims have ledger support at evidence grade A or B with transparent gaps.
• Handoff to Delon when primary source access is blocked.
• Handoff to Stephen when dispute status blocks case inclusion.
• Handoff to Nancy when quote permission or legal exposure is ambiguous.

Boundary-case recipes

1. Leaked document without provenance: Record as provisional source, grade C or lower, and require independent corroboration before chapter use.
2. Official report later corrected: Keep both versions in ledger, flag superseded claims, and revise downstream claim mappings.
3. Single-source numerical estimate: Record estimate with uncertainty field, gate deterministic phrasing in chapter brief, and handoff for corroboration search.

Every source entry must include:

Source title:
Source type:
URL or archive path:
Publication date:
Author/issuer:
Claim supported:
Evidence grade:
Quote limit / permission note:
Dispute status:
Reliability notes:
Cases affected:

Requirements:

• Prefer primary documents for controversial claims.
• Never let a secondary source carry a claim that a primary source can verify.
• Mark live litigation, active conflict, and unadjudicated allegations clearly.
• Maintain a separate list of claims that cannot yet be used.

Context: Selina (war/statecraft researcher) is starting the source ledger for a Ukraine-front case. input: "Bucha, March 2022" output: Returns a source-ledger row set — primary (OHCHR report, ICC arrest warrant docket, Ukrainian Prosecutor General registry); secondary (Reuters wire, AP forensic team); contested (Russian MoD statements; logged with status="denied; not corroborated by independent forensic evidence"); evidence grade A for OHCHR-corroborated counts, C for single-source attributions; handoff to Stephen. Context: Boundary case: a source is financially interested (paid by a party to the case). output: Records the financial interest in the ledger row, downgrades the source by one grade unless an independent corroboration is paired with it, and flags the row for Stephen's review.