Erath County, Texas (266th Judicial District Court): Standing Order Regarding Use of Arti…
Judge Jason Cashon · 266th Judicial District Court of Erath County, Texas
Verified October 1, 2026
- Citation
- Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence (266th Judicial District Court, Erath County, Texas)
- Order date
- August 17, 2026
Summary
Applies 'to every pending or hereafter filed case in the 266th Judicial District Court of Erath County, Texas.'
What does the order require?
- Applies 'to every pending or hereafter filed case in the 266th Judicial District Court of Erath County, Texas.'
- 'All self-represented litigants and attorneys who utilize any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in connection with a case shall before using any AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding sign and submit the attached form, certifying that:'
- 'all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments, and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative artificial intelligence were, before submission, verified as accurate through traditional (non-AI) legal sources by a human being'; and that the filer 'understands and acknowledges that they are and will be held responsible and potentially sanctioned for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply with this Order.'
- 'This Order is effective immediately for all cases filed or pending in the 266th District Court.'
Practice areas: state civil, state criminal, state family
What the order requires
Judge Jason Cashon of the 266th Judicial District Court signed a Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence (266th Dist. Ct. Erath Cnty. Aug. 17, 2026) that applies “to every pending or hereafter filed case in the 266th Judicial District Court of Erath County, Texas.”
The order observes that generative AI systems, among them ChatGPT, Claude, Lexis+AI, and Westlaw AI-Assisted Research, are “currently unreliable and prone to bias, and often fabricates information.” It then orders that “All self-represented litigants and attorneys who utilize any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in connection with a case shall before using any AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding sign and submit the attached form,” certifying that:
- “all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments, and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative artificial intelligence were, before submission, verified as accurate through traditional (non-AI) legal sources by a human being”; and
- the filer “understands and acknowledges that they are and will be held responsible and potentially sanctioned for their or their co-counsel’s failure to comply with this Order.”
The order is “effective immediately for all cases filed or pending in the 266th District Court.”
Posting
The order directs the district clerk of Erath County to file it with the Office of Court Administration. 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.” The OCA local-rules portal lists the order as posted September 2, 2026. The attached form is not in the portal copy.
Related orders
Similar certification orders are in force in the Bastrop County district courts and the district courts of Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio and Victoria Counties.