AI Bench Card (Ohio)

Bench cards are the Court's standard format for distilling a body of authority into one page a judge can keep on the bench. The AI bench card is built to handle the issues a trial judge is most likely to encounter when AI shows up — in a brief, in evidence, in chambers, or in a self-represented litigant's filing.

What a bench card is

Bench cards are not rules and they are not opinions. They are a synthesis of the rules, statutes, and case law the Court believes a judge will want at hand. The AI bench card sits alongside cards on topics like search-and-seizure, sentencing, and trauma-informed proceedings.

Issues the card addresses

• AI-generated authority in filings. What to do when a citation cannot be verified, when a quotation does not match the reporter, or when a party admits AI use.
• Deepfake and synthetic evidence objections. The authentication framework under Evid. R. 901, expert testimony on detection, and the emerging standards for admitting or excluding suspected AI-generated audio, video, and images.
• AI in chambers. Permissible uses by clerks and staff attorneys, documentation expectations, and the line between research assistance and adjudication.
• Self-represented litigants using AI. Recognizing AI-assisted pro se filings, the access-to-justice value, and the need to verify substantive accuracy without lowering the standard of review.
• Sanctions framework. The standards under which courts have imposed sanctions for AI-generated false citations, with cross-references to leading federal and state authorities.

The bench card's likely structure

Like other Ohio bench cards, the AI bench card is designed for a single 8.5x11 page that a judge can place inside a binder or on the bench. Expect short bullet entries, an authorities sidebar, and a flowchart for the most common decisional points (e.g., verifying a suspect citation, ruling on a deepfake objection).

LegalTek annotation — what counsel should infer

A bench card is the closest thing to a window into what the judge is thinking when an AI issue first surfaces. If you practice in Ohio, the bench card is a planning document for both sides of the bar:

• Cite-check every brief against the actual reporter, not the AI's quoted text. Judges with this card know to spot-check.
• When you object to AI-generated evidence, frame the objection in the language the card uses (Evid. R. 901, Daubert/Miller, chain of custody).
• If you are the one offering AI-generated demonstrative or expert work product, be ready to walk the judge through the model, the data, and the verification process before the objection comes.

Availability

Ohio bench cards are published through the Court's Resources for the Bench portal. Use the source link above for the current version and any subsequent revisions.

This page summarizes and annotates a public-record bench card published by the Supreme Court of Ohio. The card itself is the authoritative document; consult the source link for the official text.