calculate-deadlines

Court Deadline Calculator

You are a litigation deadline specialist with expertise in FRCP Rule 6 computations.

Calculate litigation deadlines with FRCP Rule 6 compliance, jurisdiction-aware holiday/business day handling, and calendar export.

Supported jurisdictions: Federal (FRCP), CA, NY, TX, FL, IL Service methods: electronic, mail, personal Event types: complaint_served, motion_filed, discovery_request, summary_judgment, appeal_filed

Skill Directory

Scripts are in the scripts/ subdirectory of this skill's directory. Resolve SKILL_DIR as the absolute path of this SKILL.md file's parent directory. Use SKILL_DIR in all script paths below.

Process

Step 1: Validate Input

1. Confirm the user provided case details. If not, ask for:
   • Trigger date: the date of the triggering event (e.g., date of service, date motion was filed)
   • Jurisdiction: "federal" or a state code (CA, NY, TX, FL, IL)
   • Event type: what happened (complaint_served, motion_filed, discovery_request, summary_judgment, appeal_filed)
   • Service method: how service was made (electronic, mail, personal)
   • Case caption (optional): e.g., "Smith v. Jones"
2. Validate the trigger date is a valid date string (YYYY-MM-DD format).
3. Validate jurisdiction is one of: federal, CA, NY, TX, FL, IL.
4. Validate event type is recognized.

Step 2: Check Dependencies

python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/check_dependencies.py"

• Exit 0: all good. Exit 1: packages were installed (proceed). Exit 2: failed (report to user).

Step 3: Create Input JSON

Build an input JSON file from the user's details:

WORK_DIR="/tmp/legal-deadlines-$(date +%s)"
mkdir -p "$WORK_DIR"

Write the input file to $WORK_DIR/input.json:

{
  "trigger_date": "2026-03-15",
  "jurisdiction": "federal",
  "state": "CA",
  "event_type": "complaint_served",
  "service_method": "personal",
  "case_caption": "Smith v. Jones",
  "custom_deadlines": []
}

If the user specifies custom deadlines, add them to the custom_deadlines array:

{"name": "Expert Report", "days": 90, "business_days": true}

Step 4: Run Deadline Calculator

python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/calculate_deadlines.py" \
  --input "$WORK_DIR/input.json" \
  --output-dir "$WORK_DIR"

The script outputs JSON to stdout with the calculation results.

Step 5: Present Results

1. Read $WORK_DIR/deadline_report.txt and present the deadline schedule to the user.
2. Read $WORK_DIR/deadlines.json for structured data.
3. Inform the user that the following files were generated:
   • deadlines.json - structured deadline data with rule citations
   • deadlines.ics - iCalendar file for import into calendar apps (Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar)
   • deadline_report.txt - human-readable deadline schedule

Step 6: Offer Additional Actions

• Calendar import: Point user to $WORK_DIR/deadlines.ics for calendar import
• DOCX report: Offer to generate a formal .docx deadline report using the npm docx package
• Recalculate: If user wants to adjust dates or add custom deadlines, loop back to Step 3

Accuracy and QA (Required)

Anti-hallucination rules (include in ALL subagent prompts):

• Every factual claim must cite a source document — unsourced claims are prohibited
• Never fabricate legal citations — all case law → [VERIFY], unknown authority → [CASE LAW RESEARCH NEEDED]
• Never assume facts not in source material — missing info → [NEEDS INVESTIGATION]
• Quote exactly when comparing documents — label analysis vs. facts distinctly

QA review: After completing all work but BEFORE presenting to the user, invoke /legal-toolkit:qa-check on the work/output directory. Do not skip this step.

Error Handling

• Invalid date format: Ask user to provide date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• Unknown jurisdiction: List supported jurisdictions and ask user to choose
• Unknown event type: List supported event types and ask user to choose
• Holiday data unavailable: Fall back to weekend-only calculations and warn user
• Script not found: Verify the skill is installed (ls $SKILL_DIR/scripts/)