Pa. Commw. Ct.: 1172 C.D. 2025: Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Memorandum Opinion on Use…
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania (panel) · Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Verified April 24, 2026
- Citation
- 1172 C.D. 2025: Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Memorandum Opinion on Use of Generative AI by Attorneys
- Order date
- December 5, 2025
Summary
Attorneys must verify every citation before filing; Joint Formal Opinion 2024-200 (Pennsylvania Bar Association / Philadelphia Bar Association) requires verification of AI-generated citations.
What does the order require?
- Attorneys must verify every citation before filing; Joint Formal Opinion 2024-200 (Pennsylvania Bar Association / Philadelphia Bar Association) requires verification of AI-generated citations.
- A brief containing AI-generated factual and legal errors may be struck by the court.
- A motion to file an amended brief to remove AI-hallucinated citations may be denied where the court concludes the errors are not merely technical.
- Attorneys remain responsible under Pa. R.P.C. 1.1 (Competence), 3.1 (Meritorious Claims), and 3.3 (Candor Toward the Tribunal) regardless of whether AI was used as a drafting aid.
Practice areas: appellate, state administrative
In a memorandum opinion filed at docket 1172 C.D. 2025, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court struck a brief containing AI-generated factual and legal errors and denied a motion to file an amended brief. The opinion is one of the first published Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court rulings to directly address generative AI misuse by counsel. It enforces Joint Formal Opinion 2024-200 (PBA / Philadelphia Bar Association) and treats AI-assisted drafting as subject to the same competence, candor, and meritorious-claim obligations that apply to all attorney filings.
The ruling is being tracked here as a court order rather than a case page because it is a per curiam memorandum addressing attorney conduct; it functions as guidance for practitioners across Commonwealth Court practice rather than as a sanctions proceeding against a named attorney.