Texas (25th and 2nd 25th Judicial Districts): Standing Order on Use of Generative Artific…
Judge William D. Old, III (25th District Court) and Judge Jessica Crawford (2nd 25th District Court); the Guadalupe County copy is also signed by Judge Heather K. Hines (456th District Court) · 25th and 2nd 25th District Courts of Texas (joined by the 456th District Court in the Guadalupe County copy)
Verified October 1, 2026
- Citation
- Standing Order on Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (25th and 2nd 25th District Courts of Texas)
- Order date
- May 12, 2026
Summary
Any attorney or self-represented litigant 'that chooses to use Generative AI in their work product, research, or drafting must include the following verification in bold in their pleadings', a sworn 'Verification Regarding Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence' that lists the generative AI programs used and represents that the pleading 'contains no misstatements of law, misrepresentations of legal holdings, nor improper citations.'
What does the order require?
- Any attorney or self-represented litigant 'that chooses to use Generative AI in their work product, research, or drafting must include the following verification in bold in their pleadings', a sworn 'Verification Regarding Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence' that lists the generative AI programs used and represents that the pleading 'contains no misstatements of law, misrepresentations of legal holdings, nor improper citations.'
- A pleading prepared with generative AI that 'fails to contain the above verbatim verification in bold' will 'not be considered by the Court.'
- Attorneys and self-represented litigants 'are prohibited from entering any sensitive, confidential information of any person involved in the case into a Generative AI program', and from offering evidence created or altered by generative AI, translated by voice recognition AI interpreters, or resting on expert opinions formed with generative AI.
- Violations may bring 'all possible sanctions available under the law after a duly noticed show cause hearing, including but not limited to death penalty sanctions.'
Practice areas: state civil, state family
What the order requires
Judge William D. Old, III (25th District Court) and Judge Jessica Crawford (2nd 25th District Court) signed a joint Standing Order on Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence, posted on Lavaca County’s website in 2026. It opens: “The Duty Rests With The Lawyer/Litigant, Not The Computer.”
The court “ORDERS any attorney or self-represented litigant that chooses to use Generative AI in their work product, research, or drafting must include the following verification in bold in their pleadings.” The verification, sworn “under penalties of perjury,” names the generative AI programs used and represents that the filer reviewed the entire pleading and that it “contains no misstatements of law, misrepresentations of legal holdings, nor improper citations,” contains “no sensitive, confidential information from any person involved,” and attaches no evidence “created, edited, enhanced, or altered using Generative AI.” A pleading that omits it “will not be considered by the Court.”
Prohibitions
Attorneys and self-represented litigants are prohibited from entering “any sensitive, confidential information of any person involved in the case into a Generative AI program,” from using generative AI “to create or edit/enhance/alter evidence to be admitted in any contested hearing (oral or submission) or trial,” from using interpreters that rely on “voice recognition AI programs,” and from using experts that rely on “generative AI programs in their methodology and work product.”
Consequences
“If an attorney or self-represented litigant is found to have violated any portion of this Standing Order, the Court will consider all possible sanctions available under the law after a duly noticed show cause hearing, including but not limited to death penalty sanctions.”
Copies and posting
The order as signed by Judges Old and Crawford is undated. The copy posted to the OCA local-rules portal for Colorado County carries the Colorado County District Clerk’s file stamp of May 12, 2026, and the portal lists the Lavaca County copy as posted the same day.
The Guadalupe County copy has a separate signature page, “SO ORDERED: on the 21 day of May, 2026,” signed by Judge Heather K. Hines of the 456th District Court together with Judges Old and Crawford, over the same text. It was file-stamped by the Guadalupe County District Clerk on July 7, 2026.
Under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 3a(c), “To be effective, local rules, forms, and standing orders must be published on the Office of Court Administration’s website.”
Related orders
The 457th District Court’s order in Montgomery County and the Angelina County district courts’ first order follow a similar text.
Primary sources
- Standing Order on Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence, 25th and 2nd 25th District Courts (PDF, Lavaca County)
- Colorado County copy, file-stamped May 12, 2026 (scanned PDF), OCA local-rules portal
- Lavaca County copy (scanned PDF), OCA local-rules portal
- Guadalupe County copy, with the 456th District Court’s signature (scanned PDF), OCA local-rules portal