{"resourceId":"florida-judges-cocounsel-ai-research-self-represented-filings-double-20261027","versions":[{"version":"external-5023707be5f576459b8c1443bac607d603a606a318a810fd38fb7e3ba63d41f3","resource":{"id":"florida-judges-cocounsel-ai-research-self-represented-filings-double-20261027","title":"Florida judges use Westlaw CoCounsel for research but not decisions, while AI-generated self-represented filings and records requests swell court workloads","organization":"Florida Conference of Circuit Judges / Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida","sector":"Courts / judicial use of AI and court workload","geography":"Florida, United States","publishedAt":"The Florida Bar News, Oct. 27, 2026","publicationDate":"2026-10-27","eventDate":null,"sourceName":"The Florida Bar News","sourceLabel":"Florida judges cautiously explore AI as workload grows","sourceUrl":"https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/florida-judges-cautiously-explore-ai-as-workload-grows/","evidenceClass":"independent-reporting","outcomeClass":"mixed","topics":["knowledge-work","operating-model","governance-procurement","accessibility-workforce"],"finding":"The Florida Bar News reports that Florida judges began using generative AI on July 1 when the state offered access to Westlaw’s CoCounsel, after several circuits, including the Ninth (Orange and Osceola counties), launched locally funded pilots in January. Chief Judge Lisa Munyon, who chairs the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges, says judges use it for legal research, not for decision-making, and that it is too early to say how much time it saves or how widely it is used; the Florida Courts Technology Commission is still evaluating models and possible recommendations to the Supreme Court. The larger effect so far is workload: a Commission report shows filings by self-represented litigants have doubled and documents are much longer, one defendant filed 20 to 30 lengthy documents a day, and chief judges face a surge of AI-crafted public-records and ADA accommodation requests. Munyon credits the recently expanded vexatious-litigant law and suggests a page limit for AI-generated documents.","sledRelevance":"Court administrators see that the operational burden of AI may arrive through the public’s filings before any judicial productivity gain can be measured.","evidence":"Opened the Florida Bar News article and read it in full.","architectureImplications":"State-provisioned access to a closed legal research platform rather than general chatbots; no integration with case management is described.","governanceImplications":"Judges await guidance from the Florida Supreme Court and the Courts Technology Commission; the vexatious-litigant law expansion is the main existing control on AI-fuelled filing volume.","securityPrivacyImplications":"Not discussed beyond reliance on a closed system; confidentiality of chambers work is not addressed in the article.","caveats":"One judge’s account; the doubling figure is attributed to a Florida Courts Technology Commission report that was not opened; no usage or time-saving data; no baseline period stated.","streamIds":["public-safety"],"roles":{"sales":"Sales framing: Florida courts licensed a closed AI research tool for judges, but the measurable pressure is the doubling of self-represented filings and AI-written records and ADA requests. The buyer problem is triage capacity, not judicial drafting. A bounded engagement could size intake volume and document length in one circuit and test intake triage under human review. This evidence cannot support claims about judicial time saved, which the chief judge says is too early to know.","engineering":"Engineering framing: the judges’ tool is a closed research platform, used for research not decisions, so integration needs are light. The harder technical problem is clerk-side intake: classifying long, repetitive self-represented filings and records requests without denying access. Pre-sales should ask what the e-filing system captures about page counts and filer type. A proof of value could measure document length and volume trends from e-filing data against the Technology Commission report’s figures.","delivery":"Delivery framing: the work is measuring before automating: usage of CoCounsel by judges, and volume and length of self-represented filings and records requests by circuit. The operational owner is the circuit court administrator with the clerk of court. Acceptance criteria are proposals, such as a monthly dashboard of filings by filer type and length. Risks include restricting legitimate access by self-represented litigants and acting before the Supreme Court issues guidance."},"roleDetails":{"sales":{"customerProblem":"Circuit courts face more and longer AI-assisted filings and requests from self-represented litigants, while judicial AI benefits remain unmeasured.","stakeholders":["Circuit chief judges","Court administrators","Clerks of court","Florida Courts Technology Commission","Self-help center staff"],"discoveryQuestions":["How have filing volume and document length changed by filer type?","How many records and ADA requests appear AI-drafted?","What usage data does the CoCounsel licence provide?","What guidance is expected from the Supreme Court?"],"valueHypothesis":"Interpretation: better intake measurement could let courts target triage and staffing; no savings are demonstrated.","potentialEngagement":"A one-circuit intake volume and length analysis with options for triage under human review.","unsupportedClaims":["That CoCounsel saves judges measurable time","That AI filings are mostly abusive","That page limits are lawful or adopted"]},"engineering":{"fit":"Relevant to state court systems licensing legal research AI and facing self-represented filing growth.","architectureIntegration":"Closed research platform for judges; separate intake analytics would need e-filing and records-request system data.","prerequisites":["E-filing data with filer type and page counts","Records-request logs","CoCounsel usage reports"],"constraints":["Judges barred by practice from using AI for decisions","Supreme Court guidance pending","Access-to-justice obligations for self-represented litigants"],"security":"Keep chambers research inside the licensed closed platform; any intake analytics must handle litigant personal data.","proofOfValue":["Reproduce the reported doubling from e-filing data","Measure document-length change over a stated baseline","Report CoCounsel active-user counts"]},"delivery":{"work":"Establish measurement of judicial AI use and AI-driven filing load before adopting new rules or tools.","dependencies":["Clerk e-filing data","Technology Commission recommendations","Vexatious-litigant procedures"],"ownership":"Circuit court administrator with the clerk of court","skillsAdoption":"Judges trained on research-only use and hallucination checks; clerks on triage without denying access.","governanceCheckpoints":["Supreme Court guidance review","Quarterly workload report","Access-to-justice review of any triage rule"],"acceptanceCriteria":["Monthly report of filings by filer type and length (proposed)","Documented judicial usage figures within two quarters (proposed)"],"risks":["Triage that restricts legitimate self-represented access","Over-reliance on vexatious-litigant tools","Unmeasured judicial use drifting toward drafting"]}},"retrievedAt":"2026-10-28T02:59:03Z","enrichedAt":"2026-10-28T03:05:06Z","enrichmentBasis":"retrieved source","accessibilityWorkforceImplications":"AI is helping self-represented litigants produce filings and ADA requests, raising access-to-justice and staff-capacity questions at once; the article notes only a small minority abuse the system.","procurementImplications":"Statewide licensing followed local pilots funded by individual circuits; usage and time-saving data are not yet available to justify the spend.","operatingModelImplications":"Clerks and chief judges must absorb higher volumes and longer documents; Munyon proposes page limits by rule.","sourceVerification":{"openedUrl":"https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/florida-judges-cautiously-explore-ai-as-workload-grows/","referenceExcerpt":"the number of filings by self-represented litigants has doubled","promptVersion":"sled-research-v4.0","model":null,"basis":"agent-reported inspection"}}}]}