Imagine being wrongly charged for a crime and waiting months just to get a hearing date. That’s exactly what happened to a single mother in California, who lost her job because her court case kept getting delayed. Now, imagine if an AI tool had been there to schedule her hearing faster or even guide her through the legal process—her life might have taken a very different turn.
That’s not just wishful thinking. AI is already stepping into courtrooms around the world. In fact, a report by Stanford University’s AI Index 2024 shows that AI use in law has grown by over 55% in the past year alone, helping streamline everything from legal research to court scheduling.
It’s a big shift, and it’s happening fast.
In this blog, we’ll explore the meaning, benefits, real-world applications, and what this all means for the future of justice.
What is AI in Court?
Artificial intelligence in court refers to machines that can replicate human smarts like learning, reasoning, and problem-solving. When it comes to the courts and the law, AI is being used to perform legal research in no time.
They analyze outcomes of cases to assist judges and help with decision-making.
Even though AI is not taking the place of judges or lawyers, it is turning to be a powerful ally in the courtroom.
Key Applications of AI in Courtrooms
Let us examine how artificial intelligence is currently working in courtrooms for making quick & vital decisions.
1. Legal Research and Case Analysis
Now there’s no need to refer to heaps of legal texts. AI-based legal research instruments such as ROSS Intelligence and CaseText enable attorneys and judges to swiftly find pertinent case law, prior rulings, and legal precedents. These tools use natural language processing (NLP) to comprehend inquiries just like a human would.
2. Predictive Analytics for Case Outcomes
Artificial intelligence has the power to sift through and analyze a vast amount of historical data to make reasonable predictions about the future.
For instance, it might suggest with some degree of confidence how likely a certain case is to succeed, based on historic trends, past case outcomes, or even a rough prediction about what a particular judge might do. For legal practitioners, using this sort of predictive AI can be a game-changer.
Practical application: Lex Machina employs artificial intelligence to furnish an understanding of judges’ past rulings.
3. AI-Assisted Document Review
Court cases require a lot of paperwork, contracts, evidence, transcripts, and more. AI tools can sort, read, and highlight key information in documents much faster than humans can. Many of these platforms also offer pre-built templates for legal documents, making the drafting process quicker and more standardized. They save time, reduce costs, and minimize errors.
4. Virtual Hearings and Automation
With remote work becoming the norm, courts have started doing virtual hearings. A lot of them are using AI-powered platforms to make things smoother.
But these platforms aren’t just there to host the call. They do prominent tasks. For example, let’s say there’s a message like, “The hearing is set for 10 a.m. on March 3, 2023, before Judge Mark.”
Such updates are handled by AI. No one had to type it out manually. And during the hearing? The AI can transcribe everything that’s said—live! That means no one’s stuck typing pages of notes later.
It’s these small, behind-the-scenes jobs that AI takes care of, making the whole process feel a lot more efficient.
5. Sentencing and Risk Assessment Tools
Some courts are now using AI to help with big decisions, like how long someone should be sentenced or if they’re likely to commit another crime.
One tool, called COMPAS, looks at things like the crime itself and the person’s age to predict risk.
But here’s the catch: these systems aren’t perfect. They’ve raised questions about fairness and bias. So while AI is stepping into the courtroom, it’s still a work in progress.
Tools Legally Used in U.S. Courts or Legal Systems
1. LexisNexis® (Lexis+ AI)
- Use: Legal research, document analysis, case predictions.
- How it helps: Speeds up research with generative AI and natural language queries.
- Legality: Widely accepted and used by law firms and courts for non-decisional support.
2. Westlaw Edge (Thomson Reuters)
- Use: AI-powered legal research and analytics.
- How it helps: Provides insights into judge behavior, case outcomes, and legal trends.
- Legality: Commonly used in U.S. court systems for legal preparation, not for replacing human judgment.
3. CaseText (CoCounsel by Thomson Reuters)
- Use: Legal document review, case law research, deposition prep.
- How it helps: Uses OpenAI tech to analyze documents and assist lawyers.
- Legality: Used by over 10,000 U.S. firms and considered legally compliant.
4. Lex Machina
- Use: Legal analytics and case outcome prediction.
- How it helps: Analyzes past litigation data to guide legal strategies.
- Legality: Provides decision-support data, not direct verdicts—legally acceptable.
5. DoNotPay (partially restricted)
- Use: Legal chatbot for small claims, parking tickets, etc.
- How it helps: Offers basic legal advice and document creation.
- Legality: It was challenged for practicing law without a license in some states, so its courtroom use is limited—great for consumer legal help, but not allowed to represent in court.
6. ROSS Intelligence (now defunct)
- Use: Legal research via natural language processing.
- Note: Shut down in 2020 due to a lawsuit, but widely used while active. It set the stage for AI in legal research tools.
Benefits of AI in Court: What Makes It a Game-Changer?
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming a go-to in courtrooms. Here’s why it is making such an impactful difference:
Speeds Up Legal Research
Consider the prospect of sifting through hundreds of thousands of pages of case files and laws. It’s already exhausting and even more overwhelming when you think about thousands of cases spanning over a hundred years. But thanks to modern AI tools, the critical task of legal research is becoming quick & seamless.
Improves Accuracy and Reduces Errors
Mistakes can be made by humans, particularly when they are tasked with the review of a large quantity of documents or data. AI seamlessly reviews documents from a large number of data sets and can easily find queries & important pointers. This is one of the biggest reasons, AI is becoming popular in the legal domain.
Predicts Case Outcomes
By analyzing past court rulings, AI can predict the outcome of the current case. And the accuracy level is incredible. For instance, Lex Machina, a legal analytics company, generated the following estimates using algorithms that read the law and understand how judges rule. This has also been used in lemon law cases.
AI Speeds up Court Work
It handles boring tasks like scheduling hearings or transcribing trials—things that usually eat up time and patience. By letting smart machines do the heavy lifting, courts save time and catch fewer mistakes.
Increases Access to Justice
AI is turning the justice system into something you can access from your couch. Chatbots answer legal questions, virtual hearings save you the trip, and suddenly, getting help isn’t just for the rich or well-connected.
Cuts Legal Costs
Because AI hastens jobs and minimizes the demand for needless grunt work, it also helps lower the cost of legal services — a clear gain for both law firms and their clients.
Conclusion
AI in the courtroom will not replace humans. Instead, it will enable the nonhuman components of the legal system to perform more efficiently. This should make the legal system “smarter” and thus fairer. Overall, this is a next-generation component of an exciting shift in legal proceedings—one that’s here to stay!
