Research Mode

Research mode performs deep case law research by searching CourtListener, analyzing results, and writing a structured legal research memo — all from a single query.

How It Works

1. Select Research mode from the mode dropdown next to the send button
2. Describe the legal scenario you want to research (e.g., "research all case law involving a gun found in a bag during a car stop")
3. Second Seat will:
   • Break your query into multiple search strategies
   • Search CourtListener for relevant NY case law
   • Fetch and read the full opinions
   • Analyze each case for relevance to your query
   • Write a structured research memo with citations

The Research Pipeline

When you submit a research query, you'll see a progress panel that tracks each stage:

Planning

The AI analyzes your query and identifies 2-5 distinct search strategies — different legal theories, doctrines, or factual patterns to search for.

Searching

Each search strategy runs against the CourtListener database. As cases are found, they appear in the progress panel with links to the full opinions. Duplicate results across strategies are automatically removed.

Analyzing

The AI reads the opinion text for each case and scores it for relevance to your specific query. Cases below the relevance threshold are filtered out.

Writing the Memo

A structured research memo is streamed to you in real time, covering:

• Research Question — restating your query
• Summary of Findings — overview of what was found
• Relevant Case Law — detailed discussion of each case
• Legal Analysis — synthesis of how the cases answer your question
• Conclusion — key takeaways and caveats

The Progress Panel

The emerald-colored progress panel shows real-time updates as your research runs:

• Search Strategies — numbered list with checkmarks as each completes
• Cases Found — clickable links to each case on CourtListener, with court and year
• Status Bar — current activity (e.g., "Searching (2/4): Warrantless vehicle search...")

The panel auto-collapses when the memo starts streaming so you can focus on reading. Click to expand it again at any time.

Copying and Downloading

After the research memo is generated, Copy and Download buttons appear below the memo:

• Copy — copies the full memo text to your clipboard
• Download — saves the memo as a Markdown file (research-memo-YYYY-MM-DD.md)

Citation Verification

Citations in the research memo are automatically verified, just like in Chat mode. After the memo is complete:

• The citations section expands automatically once verification finishes
• Each citation shows its verification status (verified, not found, etc.)
• Click verified citations to view the source on CourtListener

See Understanding Citations for details on verification statuses.

When to Use Research Mode

Use Research Mode	Use Chat Mode Instead
"Research all case law on warrantless car searches in NY"	"What is the standard for a Terry stop?"
"Find cases where identification was suppressed due to suggestive procedures"	"Explain the CPL 30.30 speedy trial rules"
"What does the case law say about guns found during consent searches?"	"Draft a motion to suppress"

Research mode is best for broad, fact-pattern-based research where you want a comprehensive memo with multiple cases. Chat mode is better for quick legal questions, explanations, and drafting.

Tips

• Be descriptive — describe the factual scenario in detail rather than asking a general legal question
• Specify jurisdiction — Research mode defaults to NY courts, but mention federal courts if needed
• Allow time — research takes longer than chat (typically 1-3 minutes) because it searches, reads, and analyzes multiple cases
• Verify citations — always check the AI's citations against the original sources before relying on them in practice
• Follow up in Chat — after receiving your memo, switch to Chat mode to ask follow-up questions about the cases found