WI Waukesha County: Waukesha County Standing Order 26-SO-03 (67): Use of Artificial Intel…

What the order requires

Waukesha County Circuit Court entered Standing Order 26-SO-03 (67), signed by Presiding Judge Ralph M. Ramirez and dated January 22, 2026, effective immediately upon entry. It governs the use of artificial intelligence in briefs, proposed orders, and other written submissions filed in the Family Division, and it “applies to all attorneys, parties, and pro se litigants.”

1. Independent review. A filer whose document was prepared using AI “must first independently review the document and the citations contained therein to confirm the accuracy, legitimacy, and use of good applicable law.”
2. Disclosure. Anyone who “uses AI in any capacity to create, prepare, draft, or review a filing shall disclose such use in the document” with the prescribed certification, which names the AI tool(s) used.
3. Citation certification. Filers must certify, under penalty of perjury, that they independently reviewed the document and that every citation to law, case, statute, or the record has been verified as accurate and exists as cited for the proposition cited.
4. Professional obligations preserved. “The use of AI does not relieve any attorney or pro se litigant or their ethical obligations and/or professional obligations found in the Wisconsin Supreme Court rules of professional conduct and/or Wis. Stat. 802.05.”
5. Consequences. Noncompliance may result in “striking the filing, imposing sanctions, or disciplinary referral.” Mistake, lack of technical expertise, or time constraints are not accepted as good-faith excuses.

Presiding judge

Judge Ramirez signed the order as Presiding Judge of Waukesha County. He retired from Branch 3 on August 9, 2026 (Wisconsin Court System, The Third Branch), and Judge Michael P. Maxwell was appointed Presiding Judge in July 2026 (Waukesha County). The order is an administrative order of the Presiding Judge’s office rather than a chambers order, and no order withdrawing it was found, so this entry treats it as in force.

Why family-division-only matters

Waukesha County did not extend this order to its civil, criminal, probate, or small-claims divisions. Practitioners should not assume the order applies to non-family matters in Waukesha County.

Practitioner workflow

Family-law attorneys with matters in Waukesha County may wish to:

• Build the order’s certification into filing templates used when AI assisted in preparing the document.
• Confirm that every citation to law or the record has been checked before signing, since the certification is made under penalty of perjury.
• Note that the order applies equally to self-represented parties, so filings from an unrepresented opposing party are subject to the same certification.

The order’s “any capacity” scope (not “generative AI only”) reaches AI used to create, prepare, draft, or review a filing.

Scope

Family Division of Waukesha County Circuit Court only. Dated January 22, 2026; effective immediately upon entry. Applies to attorneys, parties, and self-represented litigants.

Primary source

Standing Order 26-SO-03 (67) (PDF): https://www.waukeshacounty.gov/media/ppqccll3/26-so-03-67-family-use-of-ai.pdf

Announcement (January 27, 2026): https://www.waukeshacounty.gov/news/posts/new-standing-order-on-use-of-artificial-intelligence-in-family-division-filings/