W.D. Okla.: W.D. Okla. Disclosure and Certification Requirements (Judge Palk): Generative…
Judge Scott L. Palk · U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
Verified April 30, 2026
- Citation
- W.D. Okla. Disclosure and Certification Requirements (Judge Palk): Generative Artificial Intelligence
- Order date
- July 25, 2023
Summary
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.
What does the order require?
- 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.
- If generative AI is utilized in the preparation of any documents filed with the Court, 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.
- The failure to make the disclosure and certification described in paragraph 1 may result in the imposition of sanctions.
Practice areas: federal civil, federal criminal
What the order requires
Judge Scott L. Palk of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma was among the first wave of federal judges to adopt a Rule 11-anchored AI disclosure regime, mirroring the Starr (N.D. Tex.) prototype. The order is two pages and applies to every case before Judge Palk’s chambers.
- Disclosure. Any party (counsel or pro se) who uses any generative AI tool in preparing a filing must disclose that AI was used and identify the specific AI tool.
- Accuracy certification. The preparer must further certify that the person has checked the accuracy of any portion of the document drafted by generative AI, including all citations and legal authority.
- Rule 11 backstop. The order is grounded in Rule 11(b) and explicitly preserves Rule 11 responsibility for the contents of any AI-assisted filing.
- Sanctions. Failure to make the disclosure and certification may result in the imposition of sanctions.
Practitioner workflow
Practitioners with matters before Judge Palk should add a brief disclosure-plus-certification block to every filing where any generative AI tool was used at any stage. The order is unusually short and clean: two short paragraphs of operative text. The disclosure must name the specific tool (e.g., “ChatGPT-4,” “Claude Sonnet 4.5,” “Westlaw AI Assistant”) rather than a generic “AI was used” line.
Scope
Cases assigned to Judge Palk only. Other Western District of Oklahoma judges have not adopted parallel orders, so practitioners should check chambers rules for each judge.
Primary source
Disclosure and Certification Requirements - Generative Artificial Intelligence (Chambers of Judge Scott L. Palk, PDF): https://www.okwd.uscourts.gov/sites/okwd/files/AI_Guidelines_JudgePalk.pdf