01
Scope
Define the tool, user group, data environment, and proposed court-support workflow.
Certification
Certification ties AI review to court-specific use.
The BenchMark Standard evaluates whether a specific AI tool is appropriate for a defined court-facing workflow. Certification is scoped, versioned, and subject to re-evaluation when the tool, data handling, or intended use changes.
Certification path.
02
Evidence
Submit documentation, testing artifacts, controls, and vendor attestations.
03
Evaluation
Review the submission against the six domains and any sensitive-use requirements.
04
Registry
Publish the certification scope, version, limits, and expiration in a public record.
Use-limited tiers.
BenchMark Verified
Threshold
Administrative-use threshold with at least 55 in Domain 2 and Domain 3. Full passage at 75 is not required for this limited tier.
Suitable uses
Scheduling, formatting, intake routing, case management support, and low-risk administrative workflows.
Not suitable uses
Legal research, drafting assistance, risk assessment, juvenile proceedings, sealed matters, or any use that affects rights without higher certification.
BenchMark Certified
Threshold
Passage across all six domains, including Domain 2 and Domain 3 at the certification threshold.
Suitable uses
Judicial workflow integration, research support, drafting assistance, and analytics after local court approval.
Not suitable uses
Juvenile, sealed, and high-stakes proceedings unless elevated controls are met.
BenchMark Certified-Sensitive
Threshold
Enhanced passage across all six domains with specialized testing for sensitive court contexts.
Suitable uses
Juvenile, sealed, and high-stakes proceedings after court approval and documented human control.
Not suitable uses
Any use outside the certified scope, any use without judicial oversight, or any automated decision that displaces the judge.