Los Angeles Superior Court: AI will assist judges, not replace them

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County agrees 100% with the headline associated with retired Judge John Kralik's article "Keep Humans on the Bench" (LADJ, Aug. 28, 2026.) In fact, we will make the point more explicitly: it will always be human judicial officers making the adjudicative decisions on cases in our court. AI tools, no matter how sophisticated, will not take the place of human judicial decision-making.

Some points in Judge Kralik's article warrant additional comment. He writes of earlier media reports that "some judges have been using an artificial intelligence-supported program called 'Learned Hand'," implying its current use on cases. The implication was inaccurate when written and inaccurate today. To date, no judicial officer on our court is using the Learned Hand tool on any live cases. Two judges (I am one) have had access to the tool to date in a tightly circumscribed research evaluation process only.

Judge Kralik's premise that our court is "funding the development of programs designed to replace judicial decision-making" is entirely wrong. We are not doing that. We are cautiously and carefully evaluating a new technology that may, or may not, have utility in assisting our judicial officers and research attorneys as we face unprecedented levels of increased case filings. But come what may, it will be human judicial officers, not machines, that will make adjudicative decisions on our court.