CBA Record January-February 2026

would also let judges hold SRLs accountable without imposing expectations they cannot realistically meet. A Transparent Framework Our Supreme Court’s AI Policy, though thoughtful and for ward-looking, stops short of creating enforceable obligations. It offers guidance without a standard against which conduct can be measured. Although judges may cite the policy for context, they cannot impose sanctions solely on its basis. Without a rule, responses will continue to vary widely. Hallucinations and misattributions test the limits of these principles. They are neither innocent errors nor deliberate, but rather arise from an uncritical reliance on a technology that speaks confidently, whether right or wrong. Sanctions should reflect that reality. A rule will give courts a workable and transparent framework to firmly and fairly respond to AI’s fondness for hallucinations until AI becomes as reliable as computer-assisted research. For in the end, justice depends on something more enduring than any algorithm: the integrity of the advocacy and the rulings.

Our Supreme Court’s AI Policy, though thoughtful and forward-looking, stops short of creating enforceable obligations.

3. Correctable Defects. First-time violators should be given lati tude, like a warning ticket for a minor traffic offense. Oth erwise, the court could allow the filer to submit a corrected version, unless the defect reflects pervasive occurrences that no reasonably careful lawyer could have overlooked. 4. Self-Represented Litigants. SRLs use GAI to produce lawyer-like filings. Existing rules don’t account for SRLs, and this has pre sented a dilemma for judges: The law holds SRLs to the same rules as lawyers even though SRLs mostly lack the resources needed for verification or correction and an awareness of the consequences of an inaccurate filing. For SRLs, at the hearing on sanctions, the judge should consider (i) the practicality of remediation, (ii) the longstanding preference for deciding cases on their merits, and (iii) the sophistication of the SRL when it comes to AI technology. Such a rule would spare judges from improvising when dealing with SRLs by offering a path that balances access and accuracy. It

Justice Michael B. Hyman, who serves on the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, is a former president of the CBA and former editor-in-chief of the CBA Record.

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