Judge relying wholly on AI in order is covered by judicial immunity, court rules

__s

This is a film, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy_(2026_film)

SpicyLemonZest

This is just how the US legal system works. When a judge has made a terrible decision for dumb reasons, you appeal it, you don’t sue the judge. There’d be a similar result if you sued a judge for ruling against you at the instructions of their cult leader or something.

ferngodfather

This is not real life.

freejazz

Volokh Conspiracy is just culture war ragebait.

dgrin91

I just read a story of a guy trying to prompt inject his court submissions to win because he thought the court was using AI. I guess he just got the wrong judge: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/08/suspecting-court...

AngryData

The US justice system is a farce, 90% of the time it is merely used as an extortion racket to fund the cops, courts, and local jail. Corruption is rampant, friends of the court regularly get away with breaking the law, and the only two considerations cops use when arresting people is will it make their fragile ego feel better, and will the charges result in a significant profit for the court/cops.

dmitrygr

This is how you get vigilante justice. It is only held back by people believing that the state will treat them fairly in a court. Once the majority no longer believe that, you get chaos. I am entirely sure we do not want that. The correct action would be to make an EXTREME example of this judge: disbarment, prison, etc...

openasocket

Important to note that this was not a decision on the merits. The court didn’t find that the decision was written by AI; just that the facts alleged would be covered by judicial immunity. Proper action is to appeal, and file a grievance with the Nevada Council of Judicial Discipline, possibly also the Nevada Bar Association. Those institutions take these things seriously, and the judge can end up with her license suspended or even disbarred. A license suspension, even a short one, is very serious for a judge. A judge is forbidden from having any other employment, so a judge under suspension isn’t getting a salary and can’t get other employment. So it’s a pretty significant monetary penalty. EDIT: Yeah this plaintiff is nuts. His complaint, linked by a response to my comment and in other places, is just bizarre. I would highly doubt any allegations he might make.This guy has apparently been suing a bunch of judges in the family courts in Las Vegas. A lot of those proceedings appear to be online: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsKMpjAPcB2vRRCMtdEb1...

charonn0

As far as I can tell, the use of AI is alleged but not proven, as the case is dismissed without deciding that point.

jawns

Several commenters point out that while suing the judge is not an option, appealing the judge's ruling remains an option. So just because a judge completely abdicates their responsibility to use their own judgment, the person now needs to go through a lengthy and expensive appeals process? And even if the judge is sanctioned or removed from the bench, that only prevents future harm; it does not actually make whole the person they have already harmed. I can tolerate some level of immunity -- maybe even beyond qualified immunity -- to protect judges that make good-faith errors. But when they're engaging in blatant misconduct, it seems like absolute immunity is providing more protection than is necessary or warranted.

Karthick81

If a judge can outsource judgement, can they outsource to anyone? What about to a campaign donor? what about to a victim or the accused?

Karthick81

If the judge is allowed to outsource their job, can they outsource to anyone? What about to a donor who contributed to the campaign? what about to someone who has a vested interest in the outcome of the judgement? If outsourcing is permitted, then why have judges in the first place? why not just have an AI and let it do all the work and save money for the govt?

gamblor956

The plaintiff in this case lost and decided that the judge used AI to rule against him. However in his own complaint, which was drafted by AI, he says that it was permissible for the judge to do so... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71063603/phillips-v-par... Importantly, the judge did not actually use AI. She just followed the law. In the original family court case the plaintiff had submitted an AI drafted filing which did not include any (real) legal citations supporting the legal arguments made and was given the opportunity to amend but refused to do so. So the judge ruled against him on all 5 claims. EDIT. This all supposedly happened back in mid 2023... the AI tools the plaintiff alleged the judge used didn't get released until 2024. EDIT 2. The plaintiff actually says he wants an AI judge. EDIT 3. If you read the complaint in full it's clear he has severe mental issues and doesn't grasp how the law works. Severe jurisdictional confusion and lack of understanding about basic trial processes (even though he claims to be admitted to the Supreme Court Bar). Every judge in America would rule against him.