Texas (30th, 78th and 89th Judicial Districts: Wichita County): Standing Order Regarding…
Judges Jeff McKnight (30th), Meredith Kennedy (78th) and Dobie Kosub (89th) · 30th, 78th and 89th District Courts of Wichita County, Texas
Verified September 30, 2026
- Citation
- Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence (Joint Order of the 30th, 78th and 89th District Courts, Wichita County)
- Order date
- July 8, 2026
Summary
'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 form hereinbelow as an attachment to each pleading generated utilizing artificial intelligence.'
What does the order require?
- '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 form hereinbelow as an attachment to each pleading generated utilizing artificial intelligence.'
- The order's 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.' The attached form adds that the verification was done 'by a human being.'
- The certification: 'That the person 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.'
- 'All individuals entering the Courtroom, or court offices, are prohibited from recording any of the activities, conversations, or other events occurring in the courtroom, or court offices.' 'The use of artificial intelligence is prohibited in the courtroom, or in court offices.'
- The form states the signer is 'subject to possible sanctions under Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 10, and the inherent power of the Court, or for contempt of court, for failing to comply with the Court's Standing Order or this certification.'
- 'This Order is effective immediately for all cases filed or pending in the 30th, 78th and 89th District Courts.'
- Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 3a(c) provides: 'To be effective, local rules, forms, and standing orders must be published on the Office of Court Administration's website.' As of 2026-09-30 this order was not posted on the OCA local-rules site for the 30th, 78th or 89th District Court.
Practice areas: state civil
What the order requires
On July 8, 2026, Judges Jeff McKnight (30th District), Meredith Kennedy (78th District) and Dobie Kosub (89th District) signed a joint Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence. It “applies to every pending, or hereafter filed, case in the District Courts of Wichita County, Texas,” was file-stamped July 21, 2026, and is “effective immediately for all cases filed or pending in the 30th, 78th and 89th District Courts.” It does not name the three chambers orders those courts entered in March 2024, but each court’s page now links only this order (30th, 78th, 89th).
Attorneys and self-represented litigants who use “any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in connection with a case” must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit a Certification Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence “as an attachment to each pleading generated utilizing artificial intelligence.” The certification states that content “created or contributed to by generative artificial intelligence” was “verified as accurate using traditional (non-artificial intelligence) legal sources by a human being,” and that the signer will be held responsible for noncompliance.
The order also bars AI use in the courtroom and court offices: “The use of artificial intelligence is prohibited in the courtroom, or in court offices. The use of artificial intelligence to record, listen to, or transcribe any activity in the courtroom, or court office, is strictly prohibited.” That ban concerns conduct in court facilities, not AI use in preparing filings.
What changed from 2024
The operative text tracks the 2024 orders closely: the same per-pleading certification, the same verification standard, and the same courtroom ban. The joint order consolidates the three chambers orders into one instrument for the Wichita County district courts, and its certification form adds that verification was done “by a human being.”
Practitioner workflow
Firms with Wichita County district court matters may wish to keep the certification form with brief templates for any pleading prepared with AI assistance, and to tell staff and witnesses that AI-enabled recording or transcription is barred in the courtroom and court offices.
Posting on the OCA local-rules site
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 3a(c) provides: “To be effective, local rules, forms, and standing orders must be published on the Office of Court Administration’s website.” As of September 30, 2026, this order was not posted on the Office of Court Administration’s local-rules site (TOPICs) for the 30th, 78th or 89th District Court. The order directs the district clerk to file it with the Office of Court Administration. This page reports these facts without drawing a conclusion about the order’s effectiveness.
Primary source
Wichita County download page for the joint order: https://wichitacountytx.com/download/standing-order-regarding-use-of-artificial-intelligence-3/
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.
- activeJudges McKnight, Kennedy and Kosub sign the joint order; it is file-stamped July 21, 2026. It does not name the three 2024 Wichita County district court AI orders, but each court's page now links only this order.