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JIC Advisory Opinion 2023-22 (judicial use of artificial intelligence)

West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission · West Virginia

last revised 2023-10-13last verified 2026-09-041 versioncountry page →

Ethics opinionIn forceProhibitionVerification dutyConfidentialityCompetence

map categories:Judges' use of AIDuty to verify AI outputClient data in AI tools

Answering an inquiry about judges' use of AI, the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission applied Code of Judicial Conduct Rules 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4(B), 2.5(A) and 2.7 and concluded that a judge may use AI for research but not to decide a case's outcome, and that drafting opinions or orders with AI demands extreme caution.

Applies to
judges
Effective
See version history
Current version
Original · 13 Oct 2023
Last verified
04 Sept 2026
Official text
www.courtswv.gov/sites/default/pubfilesmnt/2023-11/JIC%20Advisory%20Op…

What the document requires

  • A judge may use AI for research purposes but may not use it to decide the outcome of a case
  • The use of AI in drafting opinions or orders should be done with extreme caution because of built-in or perceived bias
  • AI is analogous to a law clerk: the judge must decide the ruling, direct the tool accordingly, and review the final draft for current law and accuracy
  • Responsibility for the finished product rests solely with the judge — 'AI made me do it' is no defence
  • Judges must research an AI product's data handling and refrain from inputting information that may be retained or disclosed, especially in juvenile and abuse-and-neglect matters
  • Plagiarism and attribution are additional concerns when drafting with AI

Version history

VersionDateWhat changedSource
Originalcurrent2023-10-13Initial publicationofficial

Sources

Cite this record

SafeLegalAI Legal AI Regulation Tracker, "JIC Advisory Opinion 2023-22 (judicial use of artificial intelligence)" (West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission, Original, 2023-10-13), safelegalai.com/regulation/us-state/us-wv-jic-advisory-opinion-2023-22 (accessed 2026-09-04). Data: CC BY 4.0.

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