A Northern District of California judge issued a standing order requiring any filing prepared with generative AI to identify the tool, the portions affected, and the human who verified them. The order applies to all civil matters on the docket and takes effect for filings made after 1 August. Certification is required with each filing rather than once per case. Counsel who cannot make the certification must instead file a short statement explaining why, before the applicable filing deadline.
The Ninth Circuit adopted a circuit-wide rule requiring counsel to certify that every authority cited in a brief has been checked against a primary source. The rule does not require disclosure of AI use. Judges may strike a brief and order re-filing at counsel's expense. The court said it chose verification over disclosure because the risk is unverified content, not the tool.
A Southern District of New York judge imposed sanctions on two lawyers whose brief cited six cases that do not exist, referring both to the state bar and ordering them to notify their client. The court found the citations were generated by an AI research tool and filed without verification. Sanctions include a monetary penalty and mandatory continuing education. The opinion sets out a verification standard that the court says it will apply to future filings across its docket.
Corrected . An earlier version of this card said the penalty was $7,500. Reuters and Law360 report $5,000; Bloomberg Law reports $7,500. The summary now states the sanction without a figure and the key point carries both.
A District of Columbia judge set out an authentication standard for evidence alleged to be AI-generated, requiring the proponent to show provenance through metadata, chain of custody or testimony from someone with direct knowledge. The order declines to adopt a presumption either way. It applies to a single case but the court published it as guidance for the district.
A federal district judge issued a standing order requiring parties to certify whether generative AI drafted any portion of a filing and to confirm that every citation was checked against an authoritative database. The certificate must accompany each pleading. The order follows comparable requirements adopted judge by judge since 2023 and is enforceable by striking the filing.
A Northern District of Illinois judge approved a model discovery protocol governing the use of AI-assisted review, requiring parties to disclose the tool, the validation method and the recall achieved. The protocol does not require disclosure of seed sets or training decisions. It was drafted with input from both sides' e-discovery vendors and is offered for adoption in other matters.