diff --git a/app/services/output_review.py b/app/services/output_review.py
index fe22e6d..401096d 100644
--- a/app/services/output_review.py
+++ b/app/services/output_review.py
@@ -114,8 +114,22 @@ async def review_read(client: httpx.AsyncClient, candidate: str) -> Verdict:
         return Verdict(clean=False, reason=f"reviewer error: {str(e)[:80]}",
                        cost_usd=None)
 
+    # Haiku (and several other models) occasionally wrap their JSON
+    # output in a markdown code fence even with response_format set —
+    # ```json\n{...}\n``` — so strip a single leading/trailing fence
+    # before parsing. We do this defensively for any model; it's a
+    # no-op for callers that already emit bare JSON.
+    raw = result.content.strip()
+    if raw.startswith("```"):
+        first_nl = raw.find("\n")
+        if first_nl != -1:
+            raw = raw[first_nl + 1:]
+        if raw.rstrip().endswith("```"):
+            raw = raw.rstrip()[:-3].rstrip()
+        raw = raw.strip()
+
     try:
-        parsed = json.loads(result.content)
+        parsed = json.loads(raw)
     except json.JSONDecodeError:
         log.warning("review.parse_failed", preview=result.content[:200])
         return Verdict(clean=False, reason="reviewer returned non-JSON",
diff --git a/tests/test_output_review.py b/tests/test_output_review.py
index 4e6fa4b..c437678 100644
--- a/tests/test_output_review.py
+++ b/tests/test_output_review.py
@@ -109,6 +109,25 @@ async def test_review_unclean_verdict(monkeypatch):
     assert "chain of thought" in v.reason
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_review_strips_markdown_fence_around_json(monkeypatch):
+    """Haiku (and friends) sometimes wrap JSON in ```json ... ``` even
+    when response_format is set. The parser needs to peel that off
+    before json.loads or it'll reject otherwise-valid verdicts."""
+    _configure(monkeypatch)
+    fenced = '```json\n{"clean": true, "reason": "polished read"}\n```'
+    def handler(_req):
+        return httpx.Response(200, json={
+            "choices": [{"message": {"content": fenced},
+                         "finish_reason": "stop"}],
+            "usage": {"prompt_tokens": 50, "completion_tokens": 18, "cost": 0.0006},
+        })
+    async with httpx.AsyncClient(transport=_mock_post(handler)) as client:
+        v = await review_read(client, "Markets are pricing tighter policy.")
+    assert v.clean is True
+    assert v.reason == "polished read"
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_review_failsafe_on_malformed_json(monkeypatch):
     """Reviewer returned prose instead of JSON → conservative reject."""