TLDR: California’s Judicial Council has adopted landmark policies governing the use of generative artificial intelligence across its court system, including Superior Courts, Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. Effective September 1, 2025, these rules mandate that courts allowing AI must establish policies by December 15, 2025, focusing on accuracy verification, data confidentiality, and disclosure of AI-generated content. This move positions California as the largest U.S. state court system to implement such a framework, aiming to balance innovation with ethical considerations and public trust.
In a significant development for the legal landscape, the Judicial Council of California has officially adopted new comprehensive policies regulating the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) within its extensive court system. This landmark decision, stemming from the year-long efforts of an Artificial Intelligence Task Force established by Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero in 2024, marks California as the largest and one of the first state court systems in the United States to implement such a detailed framework for AI governance.
The newly adopted Rule 10.430 and Standard 10.80 are set to take effect on September 1, 2025. These policies apply broadly to the California Superior Courts, Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. Under the new mandate, any court that permits its staff or judicial officers to use generative AI for court-related work (excluding judicial officers’ adjudicative roles for Rule 10.430) must adopt a specific use policy by December 15, 2025.
The core tenets of these policies emphasize responsibility, accuracy, and data security. Courts’ AI policies must require staff and judicial officers who create or use generative AI material to take reasonable steps to verify its accuracy and correct any erroneous or ‘hallucinated’ outputs. A critical provision prohibits the entry of confidential, personal identifying, or other nonpublic information into public generative AI systems, underscoring the importance of data privacy. Furthermore, the policies mandate disclosure of AI use or reliance if the final version of a written, visual, or audio work provided to the public consists entirely of generative AI outputs. For judicial officers using AI within their adjudicative role, Standard 10.80 suggests considering disclosure.
The Judicial Council’s initiative aims to ‘promote responsible innovation in court operations while protecting confidential information, ensuring appropriate oversight, and maintaining public trust in the judicial branch.’ While the rules prohibit judges and staff from using AI to make judicial decisions, they also stress that lawyers must independently verify the accuracy of any AI-generated legal content, drawing parallels to the verification expected for work from associates or paralegals.
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California joins a growing list of states, including Illinois, Delaware, and Arizona, that have adopted AI rules, with New York, Georgia, and Connecticut currently considering similar measures. This move by California is expected to have significant implications for legal professionals, including law students, summer associates, and clerkship applicants, who will increasingly need to demonstrate fluency in AI policy comprehension, disclosure protocols, and accountability in their legal work.
