AI agents call extract_citations_from_text to retrieve information from CourtListener MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool appears to extract citation references from text—a parsing/analysis operation with no side effects. It retrieves structured information (citations) from unstructured input but does not modify, delete, or execute external operations. The low severity reflects minimal blast radius: an AI agent extracting citations poses no risk to data integrity or external systems.
From the tool's definition Tool name is 'extract_citations_from_text' which implies parsing and extraction of data from provided text input. The sibling tools (lookup_citation, batch_lookup_citations, enhanced_citation_lookup) are all read-only operations that query legal databases.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access extract_citations_from_text gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and CourtListener MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for extract_citations_from_text:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"extract_citations_from_text": {}
}
}extract_citations_from_text is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
Free to start. No card required.
extract_citations_from_text. It is categorised as a Read tool in the CourtListener MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the CourtListener MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for extract_citations_from_text: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches CourtListener MCP Server. Nothing to install.
extract_citations_from_text is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the extract_citations_from_text rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for extract_citations_from_text. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
extract_citations_from_text is provided by the CourtListener MCP Server MCP server (travis-prall/court-listener-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from CourtListener MCP Server, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
Free to start. No card required.
18 CourtListener MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.