This study explores resumes of the written case file which judges present at the start of pre-parole pluridisciplanary hearings for evaluating an inmate's future riskiness. This very reflexive discursive practice is susceptible to a “participative dilemma”. Two distinct ways of referring to the file are distinguished: “indirect reported text” and “text-as-addressed speech.” Each possesses varying sequential impact and calls in diverse epistemic fields and asymmetries.