Texas (394th Judicial District: Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, and Presidio C…
Judge Roy B. Ferguson · 394th Judicial District Court of Texas (Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, and Presidio Counties)
Verified October 1, 2026
- Citation
- Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence (394th Judicial District)
- Order date
- August 1, 2024
Status and former requirement
No longer in force (superseded); this order does not state current filing practice. While it was operative it required: As amended August 1, 2024: '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.'
What the order required while in force
- As amended August 1, 2024: '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.'
- The certification: '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.'
- The certification: 'that the self-represented litigant or attorneys submitting such information 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 attached form cited possible sanctions under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 10, and the inherent power of the Court, or for contempt of court.
Practice areas: state civil
No longer in force
This order has been superseded. Judge Monty Kimball, who has presided over the 394th Judicial District Court since January 1, 2025, signed an Updated Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence on July 22, 2026, “effective immediately for all pending and future cases filed in the 394th District Court.” The court’s website now lists only the 2026 order. What follows describes Judge Ferguson’s order as amended in 2024.
What the order required
Judge Roy B. Ferguson first entered an AI standing order for the 394th Judicial District Court on June 9, 2023, requiring verification by a Texas-licensed attorney. He amended it on August 1, 2024 (filed August 5, 2024). The amended order applied to every pending or hereafter filed case in the 394th Judicial District Court of Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, and Presidio Counties.
Before using any AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, attorneys and self-represented litigants had to sign and submit the attached certification form, stating that content “created or contributed to by generative artificial intelligence” was “verified as accurate through traditional (non-AI) legal sources by a human being,” and that the filer understood they would be “held responsible and potentially sanctioned” for noncompliance. The form cited sanctions exposure under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 10, and the inherent power of the Court, or contempt.
Scope
The order covered five Texas counties in the Big Bend region (Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, and Presidio), all served by the 394th Judicial District Court. Its recital named an unusually long list of AI systems, including legal-research products (Lexis+AI, Westlaw AI-Assisted Research, Ask Practical Law AI) alongside general-purpose tools. The 2026 order’s list is shorter.
Primary source
Amended standing order, August 1, 2024 (Texas Local Rules portal): https://topics.txcourts.gov/LocalRulesPublic/PreviewAttachment/2018
Original order, June 9, 2023: https://topics.txcourts.gov/LocalRulesPublic/PreviewAttachment/1465
Updated order that superseded it, July 22, 2026: https://topics.txcourts.gov/LocalRulesPublic/PreviewAttachment/3058
Other county postings of the same versions on the portal: the June 9, 2023 order for Jeff Davis, Hudspeth and Presidio Counties, and the August 1, 2024 amended order for Jeff Davis and Brewster Counties.
How this order changed
Dated record of this order's own lifecycle. Where it was amended or withdrawn, the badge shows its standing after that step.
- activeJudge Roy B. Ferguson signs the 394th District Court's first standing order on artificial intelligence, requiring verification by an attorney licensed to practice law in Texas. source
- amendedJudge Ferguson signs an amended order (filed August 5, 2024) that requires verification by a human being and adds legal-research AI products to the named systems. source
- supersededJudge Monty Kimball, the 394th's judge since January 1, 2025, signs an Updated Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence. It does not name this order, but the court's standing-orders page now lists only the 2026 order. source