D. Haw.: U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii General Order 23-1: In Re: Use of…
Chief Judge Derrick K. Watson; Judges J. Michael Seabright, Leslie E. Kobayashi, and Jill A. Otake · U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii
Verified April 30, 2026
- Citation
- U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii General Order 23-1: In Re: Use of Unverified Sources
- Order date
- November 14, 2023
Summary
Briefs and memoranda generated by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms (for example, ChatGPT or Bard) and online briefs or memoranda drafted by persons compensated to produce materials not tailored to specific cases are collectively defined as 'unverified sources.'
What does the order require?
- Briefs and memoranda generated by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms (for example, ChatGPT or Bard) and online briefs or memoranda drafted by persons compensated to produce materials not tailored to specific cases are collectively defined as 'unverified sources.'
- If any counsel or pro se party submits to the court any filing or submission generated by an unverified source, that attorney or pro se party must submit a declaration concurrently with that material captioned 'Reliance on Unverified Source.'
- The declaration must (1) advise the court that counsel or the pro se party has relied on one or more unverified sources; and (2) verify that the counsel or pro se party has confirmed that any such material is not fictitious.
- The scope of the required declaration is that required by Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
- This order does not affect the use of basic research tools such as Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg, and no declaration is required if all sources can be located on such well-accepted basic research tools.
Practice areas: federal civil, federal criminal
What the order requires
On November 14, 2023, all four sitting judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii (Chief Judge Derrick K. Watson and Judges J. Michael Seabright, Leslie E. Kobayashi, and Jill A. Otake) jointly issued General Order 23-1, captioned “In Re: Use of Unverified Sources.” It is one of the earliest court-wide (rather than judge-specific) AI orders in any U.S. district.
- “Unverified sources” defined. The category bundles two distinct risks: (a) “Briefs and memoranda generated by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms (for example, ChatGPT or Bard)” and (b) “online briefs or memoranda drafted by persons compensated to produce materials not tailored to specific cases.”
- Disclosure trigger. Counsel or a pro se party submitting any filing or submission generated by an unverified source must concurrently file a declaration captioned “Reliance on Unverified Source” that (1) advises the court of the reliance and (2) verifies that any such material is not fictitious.
- Rule 11 scope. The declaration’s scope is “that required by Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”
- Westlaw/Lexis/Bloomberg carve-out. No declaration is required “if all sources can be located on such well-accepted basic research tools.”
What the carve-out actually means
The Westlaw/Lexis/Bloomberg exception is the District of Hawaii’s distinctive feature, and it functions as a verifiability test rather than a blanket exemption. If every cited source in a filing can be located on those platforms, no Reliance on Unverified Source declaration is required. The safe sequence for AI-drafted work is (a) draft however you draft, then (b) relocate every citation in Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg before filing. If every cite resolves, the declaration is unnecessary. If even one cite cannot be located, the declaration is required, and counsel should reconsider whether the cite exists at all.
A citation verification log documents that step contemporaneously and is the workflow that produces the evidence behind the exception.
Practitioner workflow
Run a verification pass before submission: confirm every citation resolves on Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg, and record case name, citation, database, date verified, and attorney initials. If all sources resolve, no declaration is required. If any source cannot be verified on those platforms, including any AI-generated source, file the “Reliance on Unverified Source” declaration concurrently with the filing. The order is signed by all four judges; there is no judge-by-judge variation within the district.
Scope
All filings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. Counsel and pro se parties alike. Judge Kobayashi has also issued chambers-specific Disclosure and Certification Requirements that supplement (not replace) GO 23-1.
Primary source
General Order 23-1 PDF: https://www.hid.uscourts.gov/cms/assets/23a3ee72-c96c-42c4-b184-e8a748a00f64/General%20Order%20on%20the%20Use%20of%20Unverified%20Sources.pdf
2024 General Civil Procedures (referencing GO 23-1): https://www.hid.uscourts.gov/cms/assets/4a14e549-6790-4f0f-abaa-f33f9ec74fbf/2024_General_Civil_Procedures.pdf