US Court: Judicial Immunity Holds Even If a Judge Allegedly Used AI to Rule

A U.S. federal court has concluded that a judge accused of leaning entirely on artificial intelligence to reach a decision remains shielded from civil lawsuits by judicial immunity, according to reporting by Tom's Hardware and Reason.

The decision, in the case Phillips v. Parlade, was issued by U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro of the District of Nevada. The plaintiff, Phillips, argued that judicial immunity should not apply because the state judge had allegedly handed over her decision-making duties completely to AI, producing an order without any human judgment. Phillips contended that a fully delegated decision could not count as a ruling made by a judge, and that such complete delegation fell outside the judge's jurisdiction, a rare circumstance that can strip immunity.