---
title: "Criminal client interview checklist (United States)"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/criminal-law/us-client-interview-checklist"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a20-us-client-interview-checklist"
area_id: "A20"
kind: "checklist"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A20-T1-R5", "A20-T1-R10"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Criminal client interview checklist (United States)

> An unsigned internal question list for a first interview in a US criminal case, covering the client's account, documents, and what the client has already told the police.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/criminal-law/us-client-interview-checklist  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

- Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Practice area: [Criminal Law](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/criminal-law.md)
- Jurisdictions: United States
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the 2 authorities it cites, for United States.

## When to use it

Use at a US criminal-defense interview. Keep it in the file. Do not have the client sign it, and do not use it as an affidavit, a witness statement, a character reference, or a plea.

## Used for these tasks

- [Summarise the police brief and list proof issues](https://ailawframework.com/practice/criminal-law/summarise-the-police-brief-and-list-proof-issues.md)
- [Draft a plea-advice letter from the brief and instructions](https://ailawframework.com/practice/criminal-law/draft-a-plea-advice-letter-from-the-brief-and-instructions.md)

## How AI may be used

A tool may sort the lawyer's notes under the question headings after the interview.

**AI may:**

- Place each note under the question it answers
- List questions with no note
- Copy the charge caption from the charging document into the header

**AI must not:**

- Must not write a narrative in the client's voice for anyone outside the firm
- Must not add a signature line, a jurat, or a declaration
- Must not turn the notes into a plea, a bail affidavit, or a character reference
- Must not send the notes to the prosecution

**The lawyer checks:**

- The checklist is unsigned
- The client's words are separated from the lawyer's observations
- Anything the client says was told to the police is flagged for comparison with Rule 16 disclosure in a federal case
- The lawyer decides what, if anything, is later put in a letter or a filing

## Authorities

- [Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/373/83)
- [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16 (Discovery and Inspection)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_16)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/criminal-law/us-client-interview-checklist and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*