Five tones name what a mark means, not what colour it is. Each has an ink for text, a rule for lines and marks, and (where it may fill) a wash that is proved to carry its own ink.
Anatomy
--preceda-tone-<tone>-ink
Required-text colour for the tone.
--preceda-tone-<tone>-rule
Rules, underlines, glyph strokes.
--preceda-tone-<tone>-wash
Text-bearing fill; permitted on the base and raised surfaces only. transparent for struck.
.preceda-tone .preceda-tone--<tone>
Sets ink and rule colour on an element; add .preceda-tone--wash to fill.
Variants
Ink, rule and wash
Paper
neutralMetadata and statuses with no call to act.
bindingAction, obligation, verified provenance and error.
giltEdition and admission detail. Never operates.
verifySomething counsel must check before filing.
struckRefused or inapplicable; kept visible, struck through.
Lamp
neutralMetadata and statuses with no call to act.
bindingAction, obligation, verified provenance and error.
giltEdition and admission detail. Never operates.
verifySomething counsel must check before filing.
struckRefused or inapplicable; kept visible, struck through.
Accessibility
Tone never stands alone: pair it with a word, glyph, strike or rule weight.
Every tone ink is tested at 4.5:1 on all four surfaces, and on its wash over base and raised, in both themes.
In Lamp, gilt and verify share a hue; the VERIFY word is what distinguishes them.
Do
Pick the tone by meaning: binding for obligation and verified provenance, verify for work left to counsel.
Use neutral for status that asks nothing of counsel.
Don’t
Put required text on a decorative *-tint; use the matching wash.
Use gilt to signal state. Gilt admits; it does not operate.
Every citation states how far it has been verified, typographically: a pilcrow for provenance shown, the word VERIFY for work left to counsel, a refusal in words with the cited text struck. One phrase per status, printed identically in the margin and on the Authorities list. Colour reinforces the mark; it never carries it.
Anatomy
.preceda-status
The mark. Add one form modifier and one status modifier.
.preceda-status--margin
Block form for the margin column: glyph, small-caps label, optional note, hairline rule.
.preceda-status--superscript
Inline form after the cited text. The label stays in the accessibility tree but is not shown.
.preceda-status--<status>
One of the eleven CitationStatus values, verbatim (underscores kept).
.preceda-status__glyph
¶ (aria-hidden; the label names it), or a word: VERIFY, CHECK, DOES NOT GOVERN, STRUCK.
.preceda-status__label
The words after the glyph from verificationStatuses (“Verified against the corpus”). Empty for DOES NOT GOVERN: the verifier’s reason completes it.
.preceda-status__note
Optional context such as “quoted at ¶2”. Tertiary ink.
.preceda-struck
Applied by the consumer to the cited text of a struck authority.
Variants
Margin form
All eleven statuses as they sit in the draft margin.
Paper
¶Verified against the corpusQuoted from the source in the corpus; citation and proposition match.VERIFY · cited from memory, not substantiatedCited from recall; the source could not be traced. Verify before relying on it.VERIFY · not in Preceda’s corpus — check the citation before relying on itNot found in Preceda’s corpus, which is not evidence it is wrong. Check it against the report.VERIFY · not in our corpus — check the official textThe corpus cannot quote this authority. Check it against the report.VERIFY · verification could not runVerification could not run because the corpus was unavailable. Treat as unchecked.CHECK · the provision exists but does not say thisThe provision exists but does not say what the draft attributes to it.VERIFY · not in our corpus — check the official textThe act is not in the verification corpus. Verify the provision manually.¶Repealed; transition appliesA repealed provision that still governs here under the transition rule.DOES NOT GOVERNThe provision is real but does not govern this matter on the confirmed facts.VERIFY · which code governs turns on a date the record does not stateWhether the old or new regime governs turns on a date the record does not settle.STRUCK · citation year is in the future — this citation cannot existThe cited year is after today, so the citation cannot exist. Struck.
Lamp
¶Verified against the corpusQuoted from the source in the corpus; citation and proposition match.VERIFY · cited from memory, not substantiatedCited from recall; the source could not be traced. Verify before relying on it.VERIFY · not in Preceda’s corpus — check the citation before relying on itNot found in Preceda’s corpus, which is not evidence it is wrong. Check it against the report.VERIFY · not in our corpus — check the official textThe corpus cannot quote this authority. Check it against the report.VERIFY · verification could not runVerification could not run because the corpus was unavailable. Treat as unchecked.CHECK · the provision exists but does not say thisThe provision exists but does not say what the draft attributes to it.VERIFY · not in our corpus — check the official textThe act is not in the verification corpus. Verify the provision manually.¶Repealed; transition appliesA repealed provision that still governs here under the transition rule.DOES NOT GOVERNThe provision is real but does not govern this matter on the confirmed facts.VERIFY · which code governs turns on a date the record does not stateWhether the old or new regime governs turns on a date the record does not settle.STRUCK · citation year is in the future — this citation cannot existThe cited year is after today, so the citation cannot exist. Struck.
Superscript form
The same statuses after cited text, for the mobile desk and running prose.
Paper
verifiedcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273¶Verified against the corpus.
recalledcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYcited from memory, not substantiated.
absentcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYnot in Preceda’s corpus — check the citation before relying on it.
unverifiablecontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYnot in our corpus — check the official text.
corpus_unavailablecontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYverification could not run.
misattributedcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273CHECKthe provision exists but does not say this.
uncoveredcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYnot in our corpus — check the official text.
transitionalcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273¶Repealed; transition applies.
inapplicablecontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273DOES NOT GOVERN.
temporal_unresolvedcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYwhich code governs turns on a date the record does not state.
impossiblecontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273STRUCKcitation year is in the future — this citation cannot exist.
Lamp
verifiedcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273¶Verified against the corpus.
recalledcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYcited from memory, not substantiated.
absentcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYnot in Preceda’s corpus — check the citation before relying on it.
unverifiablecontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYnot in our corpus — check the official text.
corpus_unavailablecontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYverification could not run.
misattributedcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273CHECKthe provision exists but does not say this.
uncoveredcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYnot in our corpus — check the official text.
transitionalcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273¶Repealed; transition applies.
inapplicablecontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273DOES NOT GOVERN.
temporal_unresolvedcontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273VERIFYwhich code governs turns on a date the record does not state.
impossiblecontrary to Arnesh Kumar, (2014) 8 SCC 273STRUCKcitation year is in the future — this citation cannot exist.
At 390 px
At 390 px the margin column collapses; use the superscript form after the citation and open the margin note in a footnote sheet (T4 Sheet). The mark never wraps away from its citation.
390 px
No notice under s. 35(3) BNSS was served, contrary to Arnesh Kumar¶Verified against the corpus, reaffirmed in Satender Kumar Antil¶Verified against the corpus. The allegations are omnibus and generalVERIFYcited from memory, not substantiated.
Accessibility
The pilcrow is aria-hidden; a glyph word is read. The label is always in the accessibility tree, including in superscript form.
Each mark family has a distinct glyph or word, and struck citations are struck: status is legible in greyscale.
Status inks are in the contrast matrix at 4.5:1 on every surface in both themes.
Do not put the meaning only in a title attribute; show it in the margin note or a footnote sheet.
Do
Map the verifier’s CitationStatus straight to the modifier: preceda-status--${status}.
Keep struck authorities on the page with .preceda-struck so counsel sees what was refused.
Show the meaning line to counsel wherever the mark is explained.
Don’t
Invent a green tick, a traffic light or a badge for a status.
Colour a citation without a glyph or label.
Hide a VERIFY because the draft looks cleaner without it.
Usage
HTML
<span class="preceda-status preceda-status--margin preceda-status--verified">
<span class="preceda-status__glyph" aria-hidden="true">¶</span>
<span class="preceda-status__label">Verified against the corpus</span>
<span class="preceda-status__note">at ¶2</span>
</span>
Arnesh Kumar<sup class="preceda-status preceda-status--superscript preceda-status--recalled">
<span class="preceda-status__glyph preceda-status__glyph--word">VERIFY</span>
<span class="preceda-status__label">cited from memory, not substantiated</span>
</sup>
React
import { verificationStatuses } from '@luvkapur/preceda-design-system/tokens';
const mark = verificationStatuses[citation.status];
<span className={`preceda-status preceda-status--margin preceda-status--${citation.status}`}>
<span className="preceda-status__glyph" aria-hidden="true">{mark.glyph}</span>
<span className="preceda-status__label">{mark.label}</span>
</span>
// Prefer <VerificationMark status={citation.status} />: it prints mark.phrase.