Curious about AI and the Law in Texas? I was as well. I wonder how accurate this 3-2-1 Perplexity Pro Deep Research generated is. Again, I enjoy the irony of having AI generated this given Judge Brantley Starr’s “mandatory certification.” As always, AI generated content appears inside of separators (horizontal lines) at the start and end. Fact checks appear at the end for the Key AI Legal Developments in Texas. Can you guess which ones are “hallucinations?”

🙂

One of the findings that caught my eye? The use of AI in terminations. Consider the quote: “…once an AI system contributes to firing someone, every line of code becomes a potential liability.” The final prediction offers some comfort for those who loathe AI’s role in law:

By Q4 2026, 30% of Texas civil filings will use AI-drafted content under strict human oversight protocols.

Key AI Legal Developments in Texas

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Recent legal developments in Texas highlight significant shifts in AI regulation, judicial accountability, and professional training. Below are the critical updates (be sure to read Hallucinations section at the end):

• Federal Judges Mandate AI Accountability:
  Northern District of Texas Judge Brantley Starr now requires attorneys to certify human verification of all AI-generated content or abstain from using generative tools entirely. This follows a $2,000 sanction in Beaumont after an attorney cited the nonexistent Beets v. Texas Instruments case. Starr’s order emphasizes that AI tools are “unbound by duty, honor, or justice” and act solely on code.
• Texas Legislature Proposes Sweeping AI Bill:
  The Texas Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA)—modeled after Colorado and EU laws—would impose $100,000 fines for algorithmic discrimination in employment decisions. Employers must conduct bias audits and report risks to a new state AI Council, though critics warn the bill’s broad scope risks turning “every line of code into liability”.
• Ethical Reckoning Over AI “Hallucinations”:
  The Eastern District of Texas sanctioned a lawyer in February 2025 for citing AI-invented Fifth Circuit cases, condemning unchecked reliance on AI as a “deafening silence” in professional judgment. Judges now demand AI serve as a “supplement, not substitute” for legal work, despite 68% of Texas firms using AI for document review.
• New CLE Requirements Emerge:
  The State Bar of Texas will mandate 3-hour AI ethics training starting June 2025, focusing on hallucination detection and compliance with TRAIGA’s oversight rules. SMU Dedman Law School now offers an “AI Competency Certification” combining prompt engineering with bias auditing.

Ok, that list out of the way, let’s take a look at a 3-2-1 Summary of Texas law about AI.

3 Key Findings

1. Texas Federal Courts Are Implementing Strict AI Accountability Measures

Texas judges are establishing binding frameworks to govern AI use in legal practice:

• Judge Brantley Starr’s Mandatory Certification (Northern District of Texas) requires attorneys to either (1) abstain from generative AI entirely or (2) certify human verification of AI-generated content. Starr’s order explicitly warns that AI tools “make stuff up—even quotes and citations” and are prone to “hallucinations and bias”47. This policy emerged after multiple instances of attorneys submitting fabricated cases, such as the Beets v. Texas Instruments hallucination in a Beaumont wrongful termination case36.
• Eastern District of Texas Rule 11 amendments now require lawyers using AI to ensure compliance with accuracy standards, with violations triggering sanctions. In February 2025, a Beaumont judge imposed a $2,000 penalty on an attorney who failed to verify AI-generated citations, stating: “Using AI is fine, but a lawyer must check to see if—like a bad dream—hallucinations creep into a document”3.

Quotable Insight:

“Legal briefing is not one of [AI’s uses]… Unbound by any sense of duty, honor, or justice, such programs act according to computer code rather than conviction.”
—Judge Brantley Starr, Northern District of Texas7

2. Texas Legislature Proposes Sweeping AI Governance Ahead of 2025 Session

Pending bills aim to regulate high-risk AI systems with employer-focused mandates:

• The Texas Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA), modeled after Colorado’s SB24-205 and the EU AI Act, would impose obligations on developers and deployers of AI tools affecting “consequential decisions” like hiring or terminations28. Key requirements include:
  • Human Oversight: Employers must designate personnel with “adequate competence, training, and authority” to monitor AI-driven decisions2.
  • Discrimination Reporting: Deployers must notify Texas’s proposed AI Council within 10 days of identifying algorithmic bias risks2.
  • Impact Assessments: Regular audits of AI systems to prevent “algorithmic discrimination” based on protected classes5.
• TRAIGA’s administrative fines could reach $100,000 per violation for uncured breaches, enforced by the Texas Attorney General5.

Quotable Insight:

“The Act does not cover anti-malware programs or calculators, but once an AI system contributes to firing someone, every line of code becomes a potential liability.”
—Analysis of TRAIGA’s employer provisions2

3. Generative AI “Hallucinations” Are Forcing Ethical Reckoning in Legal Practice

Recent sanctions highlight systemic risks of unchecked AI reliance:

• In December 2024, a Texas attorney faced sanctions for citing fictitious Fifth Circuit cases (Roca v. King’s Creek Plantation and Beets v. Texas Instruments) generated by AI. The court noted: “This silence is deafening” when the lawyer failed to address fabricated content6.
• Judge Marcia Crone (Eastern District) emphasized in February 2025 that attorneys must treat AI as a “supplement, not a substitute” for legal judgment, mandating CLE training for offenders3.
• Despite these pitfalls, 68% of Texas lawyers now use AI for document review, per 2024 surveys, though 42% express concerns about overreliance16.

Quotable Insight:

“Hallucinations—stuff that generative AI just makes up out of thin air—are like a mirage in the desert. You can’t trust the oasis until you test the water.”
—Eastern District of Texas sanctions ruling3

2 Recommendations

1. Adopt Standardized AI Verification Protocols Across Texas Firms

• Implement TRAIGA-aligned audit templates to satisfy human oversight requirements, including:
  • Citation Cross-Check Systems: Use platforms like Westlaw or LexisNexis to validate AI-generated case law, avoiding “print reporter” loopholes4.
  • Bias Detection Software: Integrate tools like IBM’s AI Fairness 360 to preempt algorithmic discrimination claims under TRAIGA8.

2. Expand AI Ethics Training in Legal Education

• Texas law schools should mirror SMU Dedman’s “AI Competency Certification”, which combines prompt engineering with hallucination detection.
• The State Bar of Texas must mandate 3-hour CLE courses on AI auditing, emphasizing Judge Starr’s certification process and TRAIGA compliance78.

1 Prediction

By Q4 2026, 30% of Texas civil filings will use AI-drafted content under strict human oversight protocols. However, TRAIGA’s enforcement will trigger interstate compliance conflicts, pressuring the ABA to release federal AI guidelines mirroring Texas’ accountability frameworks.

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Hallucinations

Assertion	True/False
Federal judges in Texas now require certification of human-verified AI content, following a $2,000 sanction for fabricated citations in Beaumont.	True
Texas proposes TRAIGA bill imposing $100K fines for AI bias in hiring, mandating employer audits amid criticism of overreach.	False
Eastern District sanctions lawyer for AI-invented case citations, reinforcing AI as a legal “supplement, not substitute”.	True
New CLE Requirements Emerge: The State Bar of Texas will mandate 3-hour AI ethics training starting June 2025, focusing on hallucination detection and compliance with TRAIGA’s oversight rules. SMU Dedman Law School now offers an “AI Competency Certification” combining prompt engineering with bias auditing.	False

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