N.D. Ohio: Standing Order in Civil Consent Cases, Section 9.1 (Use of Artificial Intellig…
Magistrate Judge James E. Grimes Jr. · U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
Verified October 1, 2026
- Citation
- Standing Order in Civil Consent Cases, Section 9.1 (Use of Artificial Intelligence) (Magistrate Judge James E. Grimes Jr., N.D. Ohio)
- Order date
- March 26, 2026
Status and scope
Applies to parties and pro se filers, not to attorney filings, and imposes no obligation on attorneys. It provides: 'Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when researching and drafting documents may result in "fake" or hallucinated" cases and law, and generate material that is not based on the actual facts of this case.'
What the instrument requires of its addressees
- 'Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when researching and drafting documents may result in "fake" or hallucinated" cases and law, and generate material that is not based on the actual facts of this case.'
- 'Litigants, including pro se parties, who rely on AI-generated material must verify the accuracy of the factual information, cases, and case citations that it generates.'
- 'The Court may sanction any party who submits a filing containing fake cases or citations or who otherwise violates this directive or Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11.' Sanctions may include 'striking the offending document; imposing fines and fees; holding a party in contempt of court; dismissing a plaintiff's lawsuit; and striking a defense.'
- No disclosure of AI use is required. Applies to civil cases in which the parties have consented to Magistrate Judge Grimes.
Practice areas: federal civil
What the order requires
Section 9.1 of Magistrate Judge James E. Grimes Jr.’s Standing Order in Civil Consent Cases (N.D. Ohio Mar. 26, 2026) addresses AI in research and drafting. It warns that AI use “may result in ‘fake’ or hallucinated’ cases and law, and generate material that is not based on the actual facts of this case,” and directs that litigants, including pro se parties, “who rely on AI-generated material must verify the accuracy of the factual information, cases, and case citations that it generates.”
The section requires no disclosure of AI use. Its consequences fall on the party: the Court may sanction any party who submits a filing containing fake cases or citations, or who otherwise violates the directive or Rule 11, by striking the document, imposing fines and fees, holding a party in contempt, dismissing a plaintiff’s lawsuit, or striking a defense.
The standing order governs civil cases in which the parties have consented to Magistrate Judge Grimes’s jurisdiction.
Quotable language
“Litigants, including pro se parties, who rely on AI-generated material must verify the accuracy of the factual information, cases, and case citations that it generates.”
Primary source
Standing Order in Civil Consent Cases (Grimes, M.J.) (PDF), ohnd.uscourts.gov