District of MD Standing Order re GenAI in Court Filings

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland has issued Standing Order 2026-03 titled “In Re: Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Court Filings.”

Paragraph 1 states that, under Fed.R.Civ.P. 11, when an attorney or unrepresented party signs a pleading, written motion, or other paper, they are certifying that the legal positions are warranted by existing law and the factual representations have evidentiary support.  However, it also states that “[d]espite this clear directive,” there have been filings that rely on GenAI but “include non-existent case citations, fake quotations, and unsupported factual assertions.”

Paragraph 2 provides a caution that the submitting filer “must verify the accuracy of all filings prior to submission, and especially when relying on AI.”  It states that filings that include “fake or hallucinated citations, quotations, or representations may be subject to Rule 11 sanctions….”  Those sanctions may include “striking the filing, imposing filing restrictions, monetary sanctions, dismissal of a party’s case, and any other sanction deemed appropriate by the presiding judge.”  The Standing Order cites Fed.R.Civ.P. 11(c).

The Standing Order states: “The presiding judge may also refer any attorney authorized to practice in this Court to the Court’s Disciplinary and Admissions Committee to investigate and recommend appropriate discipline for related violations of the applicable rules of professional conduct.”