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California judges are testing a new AI clerk, and you won't know if it's looking at your case
The tool is being used mainly in civil cases, and court documents show possible expansion into criminal, family and probate divisions.
- Two of California's largest courts are testing an AI tool called Learned Hand that can draft orders and produce research memos, with Los Angeles County Superior Court launching the pilot in February and Riverside County signing a $10,000 agreement to participate.
- A majority of California's superior courts have adopted generative AI use policies mandated by the state Judicial Council, with Los Angeles investing roughly $314,000 in a contract that includes roadmap expansion into criminal, family, and probate divisions.
- Nearly 90 documented AI errors in California courts since August 2024 have raised alarms, including a $10,000 fine against a Los Angeles-based lawyer for citing nonexistent cases, while Deputy Public Defender Elizabeth Lashley-Haynes warned using the tool on Racial Justice Act petitions would be 'highly problematic and bordering on unethical.'
- Disclosure requirements remain narrow: Los Angeles and Riverside courts only mandate transparency when documents are written entirely by AI, leaving plaintiffs potentially unaware testing occurs on their cases. Judge Samantha Jessner, who chairs the Judicial Technology Advisory Committee, admitted she was unaware until recently that criminal expansion was planned.
- Expansion into criminal divisions poses constitutional risks, as the contract allows AI use on motions to suppress evidence and post-conviction relief petitions where freedom hangs in the balance. An anonymous Los Angeles Superior Court judge warned AI 'will erode the public's confidence in the competence and fairness of the judiciary.
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California judges are testing a new AI clerk, and you won’t know if it’s looking at your case
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Two of California’s largest courts are testing an AI tool that can draft orders and produce research memos. Judges so far are using it primarily for civil cases, but documents obtained by CalMatters indicate the possibility of expanded applications in criminal cases, where […]
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