Court Confidentiality Crisis: AR Supreme Court Issues Urgent AI Ban Targeting Internal Data
LITTLE ROCK, AR—In a decisive move responding to the rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) like ChatGPT, the Arkansas Supreme Court has released a proposed administrative order aimed at safeguarding confidential court information. The draft rule, titled Administrative Order No. 25: Artificial Intelligence, specifically targets court personnel, prohibiting them from exposing sensitive, internal court data to these powerful GAI systems.
The core of the proposed ban is centered on personnel who handle the state’s judicial management systems, including the public-facing but internally connected CourtConnect platform.
A New Prohibition for CourtConnect Users
The proposed order explicitly bars Administrative Office of the Courts staff, court clerks and their staff, and “Anyone else with access to internal CourtConnect” from “intentionally exposing our state courts’ internal data to a GAI.”
The Supreme Court committee noted that generative AI models are designed to retain and use data submitted by users to continuously train their underlying language models. This standard operating procedure poses an unacceptable risk to client and case confidentiality. Any intentional or inadvertent disclosure of sealed or confidential information to a GAI tool could result in a serious violation of existing rules, including Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 19 and the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct.
While the proposed rule primarily addresses the security of internal court data, it serves as a stark reminder of the ethical pitfalls facing the entire legal profession as AI tools become ubiquitous. Courts across the nation have recently expressed frustration, and even issued sanctions, against attorneys who have filed briefs containing “AI hallucinations”—false or nonexistent case citations generated by the tools.
The new administrative order signals the Arkansas judiciary’s commitment to maintaining data integrity and is part of a broader effort by the Supreme Court’s Committee on Automation to study and manage the impact of AI on the justice system.
Public Feedback Deadline Looms
The Court is accepting public comments on the proposed rule changes until August 1, 2025. Interested parties are encouraged to submit written feedback to Kyle E. Burton, Clerk of the Arkansas Supreme Court, or via email to rulescomments@arcourts.gov.
