US | Incident Report
Regulatory Action
2026-01-07
Massachusetts SJC interim GenAI guidelines restrict judges and court staff to admin use
AI Model: ChatGPT (OpenAI), Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot
I. Executive Summary
Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court was reported as having issued interim guidelines governing generative AI use by judges and court personnel.
The guidance restricts GenAI to administrative tasks and prohibits use for legal research, legal writing, or other legal work. It also limits inputs to public information and places responsibility on users to verify outputs.
II. Key Facts
- Interim GenAI guidelines for Massachusetts state courts were publicly reported.
- Judges and court staff are barred from using GenAI for legal research or legal writing.
- Court personnel may enter only public (“Level 1”) information into approved tools.
- Approved tools named include ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot.
- Policy emphasizes user accountability and independent verification of GenAI outputs.
III. Regulatory & Ethical Implications
Signals an emerging judicial-governance model for GenAI: tool allowlists, data-classification constraints, and explicit “no delegation” of legal analysis.
The restrictions may drive corresponding expectations for attorneys appearing before the courts (e.g., confidentiality controls, verification obligations) and could be referenced in future judicial ethics or disciplinary matters involving improper AI use in court-related work.