Cuyahoga County, OH: Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Judge John J. Russo: Certific…
Judge John J. Russo · Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas (Ohio)
Verified April 30, 2026
- Citation
- Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Judge John J. Russo: Certificate Regarding Judge-Specific Requirements (Generative AI)
- Order date
- January 1, 2024
Summary
I, the undersigned attorney, hereby certify that I have read and will comply with all judge-specific requirements for Judge John J. Russo, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
What does the order require?
- I, the undersigned attorney, hereby certify that I have read and will comply with all judge-specific requirements for Judge John J. Russo, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
- I further certify that no portion of any filing in this case will be drafted by generative artificial intelligence or that any language drafted by generative artificial intelligence (including quotations, citations, paraphrased assertions, and legal analysis) will be checked for accuracy, using print reporters or traditional legal databases, by a human being before it is submitted to the Court.
- Failure to comply will result in a failure to comply hearing set before this Court.
- Any attorney or pro se litigant who signs any filing in this case will be held responsible for the contents thereof according to applicable rules of attorney discipline, regardless of whether generative artificial intelligence drafted any portion of that filing.
- The Certificate must be served prior to the Case Management Conference, along with requests for document production and interrogatories.
Practice areas: state civil
What the requirement is
Judge John J. Russo of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas (Cleveland, Ohio) requires every attorney appearing before him to file a one-page “Certificate Regarding Judge-Specific Requirements.” It bundles two attestations into a single signed document: (1) acknowledgment of his chambers’ judge-specific requirements, and (2) a generative-AI verification certification. Service is required prior to the Case Management Conference, alongside the requests for document production and interrogatories.
On the AI side, the certificate offers two compliant options in a single sentence: either (a) “no portion of any filing in this case will be drafted by generative artificial intelligence,” or (b) any AI-drafted language (“including quotations, citations, paraphrased assertions, and legal analysis”) “will be checked for accuracy, using print reporters or traditional legal databases, by a human being before it is submitted to the Court.”
Attorney discipline accountability is also expressly preserved by the certificate. Any signer “will be held responsible for the contents [of any filing] according to applicable rules of attorney discipline, regardless of whether generative artificial intelligence drafted any portion of that filing.”
Why the verification-method language matters
The Russo certificate is unusual in two respects. First, it specifies the method of verification (“print reporters or traditional legal databases”), not just the fact of verification. That is more prescriptive than the typical “human reviewed” language in federal standing orders. Second, noncompliance is procedural rather than monetary: a “failure to comply hearing” is set before the court. Counsel must appear and explain noncompliance, and sanctions follow from that hearing rather than being imposed sua sponte.
Practitioner workflow
For any case assigned to Judge Russo in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas, calendar the certificate filing along with the discovery deadline. It is due before the Case Management Conference. Use the form posted at the URL below; it is a single page. Internally, document the verification database used (Westlaw, Lexis, Casemaker, Fastcase, or print reporters) for any AI-assisted drafting in the matter. The certificate language commits the firm to that specific verification method.
Scope
Cases assigned to Judge John J. Russo, Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. For broader Ohio practice, see also Hamilton County Local Rule 49 (Cincinnati) and judge-specific federal orders such as Judge Boyko (N.D. Ohio) and Judge Newman (S.D. Ohio).
Primary source
Certificate form (PDF): https://cp.cuyahogacounty.gov/media/3728/jjr-certificate-re-generative-artificial-intelligence.pdf
Judge Russo chambers page: https://cp.cuyahogacounty.gov/court-resources/judges/judge-john-j-russo/