More Courts Should Ask Litigants To Provide Proposed Orders - Above the Law

"This can lead to mistakes since courts often need to decide upon numerous motions, applications, and other types of requests at a single time, and court administrators often hold judges to difficult standards about resolving matters in a timely fashion. In order to streamline the judicial process and save resources, more courts should require litigants to submit proposed orders when they file motions."

"Judges make all kinds of mistakes when it comes to deciding motions. Sometimes, judges fail to grant the precise relief requested in a motion, presumably since they did not closely read the papers and did not include language necessary to resolve a given issue. At other times, judges might draft an order that contains ambiguities which require follow-up action by litigants and court staff. In other recent examples, judges might use artificial intelligence to draft opinions that might contain fabricated authorities."

Courts frequently face overburdened dockets and insufficient resources, leading to mistakes on motions and delayed resolutions. Judges sometimes fail to grant the precise relief requested, draft ambiguous orders, or rely on artificial intelligence that produces fabricated authorities. Requiring litigants to upload proposed orders in editable Word format ensures the exact relief, deadlines, and rote language accompany motions. Judges routinely edit proposed orders before entry, reflecting judicial oversight while reducing follow-up tasks for court staff. Common use of proposed orders can decrease errors, clarify relief, conserve judicial resources, and streamline the adjudicative process.

Read at Above the Law