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searchLegalPrecedents

Search federal, supreme, and appellate court rulings, case citations, judicial opinions, and statutory precedents. Use when researching binding appellate, supreme, or federal court case law rulings, official legal citations, judicial holding summaries, and citation counts. Do not use for technical patent prior-art searches (use searchGlobalPatents) or trademark brand conflicts (use lookupTrademarkAvailability).

Input Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
legal_queryYesSpecific legal doctrine, statute, or case citation (e.g., 'AI training copyright fair use').
jurisdictionNoCourt system or legal jurisdiction filter (defaults to 'US-Federal').US-Federal

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Changed6 schema fields changed
    • addedInput schema / additionalProperties
      Added value: +false
    • addedInput schema / properties / jurisdiction / default
      Added value: +"US-Federal"
    • addedInput schema / properties / jurisdiction / enum
      Added value: +[
      +  "US-Federal",
      +  "US-CA",
      +  "US-NY",
      +  "UK",
      +  "EU-CJEU",
      +  "DE",
      +  "International"
      +]
    • addedInput schema / properties / jurisdiction / examples
      Added value: +[
      +  "US-Federal"
      +]
    • addedInput schema / properties / legal_query / examples
      Added value: +[
      +  "AI training copyright fair use"
      +]
    • addedInput schema / properties / legal_query / minLength
      Added value: +3
  2. Changed2 schema fields changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / jurisdiction / description
      Previous value: -"Legal jurisdiction (e.g., US-Federal, UK, EU-CJEU)"New value: +"Court system or legal jurisdiction filter (defaults to 'US-Federal')."
    • changedInput schema / properties / legal_query / description
      Previous value: -"Legal topic, statute, or case citation (e.g., AI copyright fair use, software patent Alice test)"New value: +"Specific legal doctrine, statute, or case citation (e.g., 'AI training copyright fair use')."
  3. First observed

TDQS

A4/5.0
Behavior2/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

No annotations are provided, so the description carries the full burden for behavioral disclosure. It says nothing about read-only nature, rate limits, authentication, result format, or pagination—only what is searched. This is a significant gap for an unannotated search tool.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Three sentences: the first establishes purpose, the second specifies when to use, and the third names exclusions. Every sentence earns its place, and the structure is front-loaded with the most critical information.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Given no output schema, the description covers what the tool does and when to use it, which is sufficient for selection. It could mention result format or pagination to be fully complete, but its core purpose and routing are well articulated.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

The schema has 100% description coverage with clear enum and description for both parameters, so the baseline is 3. The description adds no parameter-specific details beyond what the schema already provides.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb 'Search' and enumerates the resources: federal, supreme, and appellate court rulings, case citations, judicial opinions, and statutory precedents. It also explicitly names two sibling tools it is not, making it instantly distinguishable.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Provides explicit 'Use when' conditions for legal research on binding case law, citations, and holdings, and direct 'Do not use' clauses that redirect to searchGlobalPatents and lookupTrademarkAvailability. No inference required.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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