D. Haw.: AI Guidelines (Cases Assigned to Judge Kobayashi)
Senior U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi · U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii
Verified September 28, 2026
- Citation
- AI Guidelines (Cases Assigned to Judge Kobayashi)
- Order date
- September 28, 2023
Summary
Any party, whether pro se or counseled, who uses any generative AI tool in preparing documents to be filed with the Court must disclose in the document that AI was used and identify the specific tool used.
What does the order require?
- Any party, whether pro se or counseled, who uses any generative AI tool in preparing documents to be filed with the Court must disclose in the document that AI was used and identify the specific tool used.
- The party or attorney must further certify that they have checked the accuracy of any portion of the document drafted by generative AI, including all citations and legal authority.
- If generative AI is used, the party or attorney will be held responsible for the contents under Rule 11 and applicable rules of professional conduct and attorney discipline.
- Failure to make the disclosure and certification may result in sanctions.
Practice areas: federal civil, federal criminal
What the guidelines require
Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi of the District of Hawaii, now a Senior U.S. District Judge, publishes “Disclosure and Certification Requirements: Generative Artificial Intelligence” for cases assigned to Judge Kobayashi. The document has three paragraphs:
- Disclosure and certification. “Consistent with Rule 11(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the certifications required thereunder, the Court directs that any party, whether appearing pro se or through counsel, who utilizes any generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool in the preparation of any documents to be filed with the Court, must disclose in the document that AI was used and the specific AI tool that was used. The unrepresented party or attorney must further certify in the document that the person has checked the accuracy of any portion of the document drafted by generative AI, including all citations and legal authority.”
- Responsibility. Where generative AI is used, “the unrepresented party or attorney will be held responsible for the contents thereof, in accordance with Rule 11 and applicable rules of professional conduct and/or attorney discipline.”
- Sanctions. “The failure to make the disclosure and certification described in paragraph 1 may result in the imposition of sanctions.”
Similar language elsewhere
The opening formula (“Consistent with Rule 11(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the certifications required thereunder”) and the certification that the filer “has checked the accuracy of any portion of the document drafted by generative AI, including all citations and legal authority” also appear, nearly word for word, in E.D.N.Y. Magistrate Judge Lindsay’s AI provision.
Scope
Cases assigned to Judge Kobayashi. The guidelines are linked as “AI Guidelines” from Judge Kobayashi’s page on the court’s website.
Primary source
Guidelines PDF: https://www.hid.uscourts.gov/cms/assets/95f11dcf-7411-42d2-9ac2-92b2424519f6/AI%20Guidelines%20LEK.pdf