Supreme Courts of Delaware and Georgia Act to Regulate Use of Generative AI in the Courts

In
a
coincidence
of
timing
that
reflects
how
legal
professionals
are
wrestling
with
issues
around
generative
artificial
intelligence,
the
supreme
courts
of
Delaware
and
Georgia
issued
orders
within
a
day
of
each
other
last
week
relating
to
the
use
of
AI
in
the
courts
and
by
legal
professionals.

On
Oct.
21,
the
Delaware
Supreme
Court

adopted
an
interim
policy
providing
guidance
on
the
use
of
gen
AI
by
judges
and
court
personnel.

The
next
day,
the
Supreme
Court
of
Georgia,
following
up
on

its
August
order
forming
an
Ad
Hoc
Committee
on
Artificial
Intelligence
and
the
Courts,

appointed
the
committee’s
16
members,
who
held
their
first
meeting
the
next
day.

Delaware:
‘Users
Are
Responsible’

The
Delaware
policy
was
developed
and
recommended
by
the
Delaware
Commission
on
Law
and
Technology,
which
the
court
originally
established
in
2013
to
provide
lawyers
with
guidance
and
education
regarding
the
use
of
technology
in
law
practice.

The
policy
allows
the
use
of
gen
AI
tools
by
“all
judicial
branch
judicial
officers,
employees,
law
clerks,
interns,
externs,
and
volunteers.”
It
sets
out
five
policies
regarding
use
of
gen
AI
by
those
employees
(the
following
is
quoted
directly
from
the
policy):

1. Authorized
   User
   Remains
   Responsible.
   Any
   use
   of
   GenAI
   output
   is
   ultimately
   the
   responsibility
   of
   the
   Authorized
   User.
   Authorized
   Users
   are
   responsible
   to
   ensure
   the
   accuracy
   of
   all
   work
   product
   and
   must
   use
   caution
   when
   relying
   on
   the
   output
   of
   GenAI.
2. Informed
   Use.
   Authorized
   Users
   should
   not
   use
   Approved
   GenAI
   without
   a
   working
   knowledge
   and
   understanding
   of
   the
   tools.
   Authorized
   Users
   should
   be
   trained
   in
   the
   technical
   capabilities
   and
   limitations
   of
   Approved
   GenAI
   prior
   to
   use.
3. Decision
   Making.
   Authorized
   Users
   may
   not
   delegate
   their
   decision-making
   function
   to
   Approved
   GenAI.
4. Compliance
   with
   Laws
   and
   Judicial
   Branch
   Policies.
   Use
   of
   GenAI
   must
   comply
   with
   all
   applicable
   laws
   and
   judicial
   branch
   policies.
5. Non-Approved
   GenAI.
   Authorized
   Users
   may
   not
   input
   any
   Non-Public
   Information
   into
   Non-Approved
   GenAI.
   Non-Approved
   GenAI
   may
   not
   be
   used
   on
   State
   Technology
   Resources.

The
policy
also
creates
a
category
of
“Approved
GenAI,”
which
are
tools
that
have
been
approved
by
the
court
system’s
administrative
office.

Georgia:
Protecting
Public
Trust

In
Georgia,
the
Supreme
Court
issued
an
order
appointing
the
members
of
its

Ad
Hoc
Committee
on
Artificial
Intelligence
and
the
Courts.
Their
charge
is
to
assess
the
risks
and
benefits
of
the
use
of
gen
AI
on
the
courts
and
to
make
recommendations
“to
ensure
that
the
use
of
AI
does
not
erode
public
trust
and
confidence
in
the
judicial
system.”

All
but
three
of
the
16
committee
members
are
judges,
clerks
and
court
administrators.
Of
the
other
three,
one
represents
the
State
Bar
of
Georgia,
one
represents
the
Public
Defender
Council,
and
one
is
the
solicitor-general
for
Georgia’s
Cherokee
County.

The
committee
held
its
first
meeting
on
Oct.
23.