S.D.N.Y.: Individual Rules in Criminal Cases § 1.e: AI Disclosure (Cases Assigned to Judg…
Judge Dale E. Ho · U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Verified April 27, 2026
- Citation
- Individual Rules in Criminal Cases § 1.e: AI Disclosure (Cases Assigned to Judge Ho)
- Order date
- January 8, 2026
Summary
Any party who uses generative AI (such as ChatGPT, Harvey, CoCounsel, or Google Bard) to generate any portion of a motion, brief, pleading, or other filing must attach to the filing a separate declaration disclosing the use of AI.
What does the order require?
- Any party who uses generative AI (such as ChatGPT, Harvey, CoCounsel, or Google Bard) to generate any portion of a motion, brief, pleading, or other filing must attach to the filing a separate declaration disclosing the use of AI.
- The declaration must certify that the filer has reviewed the source material and verified that the artificially generated content is accurate.
- The declaration must affirm Rule 11 compliance.
- Applies to criminal practice in cases assigned to Judge Ho.
Practice areas: federal criminal
What the order requires
Judge Dale E. Ho’s Individual Rules in Criminal Cases § 1.e (revised January 8, 2026) requires a separate declaration attached to any AI-assisted filing. The declaration must disclose AI use, identify (by enumerated examples) which tools fall in scope (ChatGPT, Harvey, CoCounsel, Google Bard), and certify accuracy verification plus Rule 11 compliance.
Two design choices: (1) the disclosure must be a separate declaration, not a paragraph within the filing, and (2) the order applies to criminal practice. Federal criminal AI rules are uncommon and Ho’s is among the more prescriptive.
Primary source
Individual Rules (criminal): https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/practice_documents/DEH%20Ho%20Individual%20Rules%20and%20Practices%20in%20Criminal%20Cases%20-%20January%202026.pdf