CAN COURT ROOMS BE REPLACED BY CHATGPT AI ?

INTRODUCTION : 

Let us imagine walking into a courtroom where there are no lawyers arguing and no judges delivering verdicts but only Artificial Intelligence handling the whole court proceedings, with the AI like the CHATGPT etc. becoming more advanced in these days. This blog is all about exploring the possibilities, challenges and behind this fascinating idea.

THE RISE OF AI IN LAW:

AI is ACTUALLY a transformative force, AI simplifies our work and it is transforming the legal field with all the AI power tools automating tasks enhancing the research and also improve access to justice. 

The AI has increased efficiency and productivity, by automating routine tasks such as contract analysis, document review, legal researches and also drafting notices which actually took much hours before now it is done in minutes using the AI powered tools, instead of flipping through heavy law books or manually searching online databases, AI tool can instantly scan thousands of contents which we require. 

THE ISSUE OF BIAS AND PROCEDURAL CONCERNS IN AI DECISIONS:

  The legal issues arising from AI are wide ranging and complex rapid increase in number of AI systems and their potential uses. The AI systems can end up keeping unfairness alive and making it worse since they learn from past data that already carries inequalities like biased court rulings and unfair hiring practices. The legal implications leads to miscarriages of justices, wrongful arrests or detainment or institutionalized discriminations also eroding of the public trust in the legal institutions.

The American Bar Association has given guidance on GenAI Legal issues, In July 2024, The ABA issued its first formal opinion on ethical issues raised by lawyers use of Gen AI, The opinion provides general guidance, the opinion states that lawyers using AI must fully consider their ethical obligations, including : 

1. Providing Competent Legal Representation

Being a good lawyer starts with knowing your craft. Clients come to you trusting that you have the knowledge and skills to handle their problems. That means you can’t just rely on what you learned in law school — you have to keep learning, keep reading, and keep sharpening your practice. Preparation is key: every case deserves careful research and a solid strategy. And if something falls outside your area of expertise, honesty is best — either bring in someone with the right skills or take the time to learn it properly before you act.

2. Protecting Client Information

When a client opens up to a lawyer, they’re often sharing the most personal or difficult details of their life or business. Respecting that trust is one of the most important responsibilities we have. Confidentiality isn’t just about following the law — it’s about building a relationship where the client feels safe. That also means being careful with files, emails, and digital data. With privacy breaches so common, it’s on us to make sure client information stays secure. The only time breaking confidentiality is justified is if keeping silent would cause serious harm or if the law demands it.

3. Communicating with Clients

For many clients, legal processes feel confusing, overwhelming, and stressful. Clear, honest communication makes all the difference. This means updating clients regularly, explaining options in everyday language, and making sure they understand their choices before making big decisions. Even simple things like returning calls or emails promptly can reassure a client that their case matters. At the end of the day, the client should never feel “in the dark” about what’s happening.

4. Supervising Employees and Agents

Lawyers rarely work completely alone — assistants, paralegals, clerks, or interns often play a role. But the responsibility for what happens in the office always comes back to the lawyer. That means setting clear expectations, training people properly, and checking their work. Delegation is fine, but it doesn’t remove accountability. A strong team doesn’t just help with efficiency; it reflects the values and professionalism of the lawyer leading it.

5. Advancing Only Meritorious Claims and Contentions

Law isn’t a weapon to settle grudges or waste a court’s time. Clients may sometimes want to “teach someone a lesson” or drag out a dispute, but it’s a lawyer’s job to steer them toward claims that have real merit. Filing frivolous suits or making arguments without a solid basis hurts the client, the lawyer, and the justice system itself. Zealous advocacy is important, but it must always be balanced with honesty, fairness, and respect.

There are actually 2 risks that AI presents for litigators:

1. Output risks : Information generated by the AI system may be risky to use. 

LLMs can hallucinate, producing incorrect answers with a high degree of confidence. Hallucinations are common with general-use AI tools, such as ChatGPT, and may even be becoming more frequent in the tools’ latest versions.

GenAI tools designed specifically for legal research are built to increase accuracy and limit hallucinations. These legal research tools are trained to only retrieve trusted legal data

While more reliable than general-purpose LLMs, it’s still the lawyer’s ethical responsibility to check the output of any GenAI tool it uses for accuracy.

In 2023, a judge famously fined two New York lawyers and their law firm for submitting a brief with GenAI-generated fictitious citations. This was the first in a series of cases involving GenAI hallucinations in court documents, including a Texas lawyer sanctioned for similar reasons in 2024.

2.Input risks : Information may be put at risk by being input into an AI system.

The greatest input risk is breach of confidentiality. While new functionalities are emerging to address privacy issues, such as allowing users to turn off chat histories and prevent information they enter from being used to train the platform, not all LLMs have had such upgrades.

A law firm may want to sign a licensing agreement with the GenAI provider or the platform that incorporates the GenAI that has strict confidentiality provisions that explicitly prevent uploaded information from being retained or accessed by unauthorized persons.

Even with such an agreement, legal professionals should still regard an LLM as being potentially insecure, and they should never put any confidential information into a public model, such as  chatgpt.

 CAN COURTROOMS BE REPLACED BY CHATGPT AI ?

The Courtrooms cannot be replaced by Chatgpt AI, it can assist certain legal tasks. It lacks the nuanced judgement, ethical reasoning and human oversight required for fair .

Court rooms are all about people—judges, juries and lawyers who can really get full picture of messy human situations, feelings and what society expects. They’re the ones who can sense the weight of someone’s story or the vibe of a community, It’s clever, sifting through the data and spotting patterns, but it misses the heart of things.

CONCLUSION : 

The AI can assist in research and efficiency, but it cannot replace courtrooms,  Justice, Judgement, empathy and  accountability—qualities AI lacks. At best, AI can support the system and not substitute it.

REFERENCE :

https://woxsen.edu.in/research/white-papers/exploring-the-use-of-ai-in-legal-decision-making-benefits-and-ethical-implications/#:~:text=There%20are%20also%20concerns%20about,improper%20utilisation%20of%20personal%20information.