The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently published a proposed rule requiring lawyers to disclose any time they use artificial intelligence to help them write legal filings. Per Danielle Ferguson of Law360, lawyers would need to verify all citations were real.

According to the revised rule in Michigan:

• “Artificial intelligence” or “AI” means the capability of computer systems or
  algorithms to imitate intelligent human behavior.
• If generative AI is used to compose or draft any paper presented for filing, the filer
  must disclose its use and attest that citations of authority have been verified by a human being by using print volumes or traditional legal databases and that the language in the paper has been checked for accuracy by the filer.

What might this mean for the future of AI in the courts? Is this the start of a trend?

In November, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals proposed a similar change. If a program was used, the filers must promise that all text, including citations and legal analysis, were reviewed for accuracy and approved by a human.

U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr in the Northern District of Texas also requires litigants to file a certificate attesting that no generative AI be used in filings, or that any AI used would be checked for accuracy by a human.

For more information, read the Law360 article here or the rule here.

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