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Los Angeles and Riverside County Courts Test AI Tool for Drafting Orders
Superior courts in Los Angeles and Riverside counties are piloting an AI system developed by Learned Hand to assist judges with drafting orders and research reports. The pilot began in February in Los Angeles under a $314,000 contract and in Riverside under a $10,000 agreement. Officials are evaluating whether the tool can be used in criminal cases.
May 27, 3:54 PM·1m read1 source
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Superior courts in Los Angeles and Riverside counties are testing an artificial intelligence tool that can draft judicial orders and prepare research reports. The tool combines language models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google. Learned Hand founder Shlomo Klapper said the system is intended to help judges manage growing caseloads.
He stated that human staff increases alone will not be sufficient.
The contract specifically allows testing on motions to suppress evidence and post-conviction relief motions. The contract language permits testing on live cases. Officials have not detailed the evaluation criteria for expanding use into criminal matters.
He cited the risk of constitutional rights violations if the AI produces errors. Hochman noted that the stakes differ from civil cases because liberty is at issue. Both counties require disclosure only when a document is written entirely by generative AI. Court officials have not stated whether parties are notified that the tool is being tested on their cases.
About a dozen of the 51 courts responding to CalMatters public records requests reported using tools from LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters, and Microsoft Copilot.
