New Jersey introduces 'first-of-its-kind' AI tool for public defenders
The New Jersey public defender’s office has introduced an artificial intelligence-powered platform that will help public defenders access years of briefs, motions, legal research, training materials and institutional expertise—all in one place. (Photo by imaginima/Getty Images)
The New Jersey public defender’s office has introduced an artificial intelligence-powered platform that will help public defenders access years of briefs, motions, legal research, training materials and institutional expertise—all in one place.
The OPD Resource Library, which was developed with researchers from Princeton University, the New Jersey Innovation Authority and the New Jersey Office of Information Technology, will enable public defenders to spend less time searching for information and more time on strategy, advocacy and their clients, according to a July 8 press release from the public defender’s office.
“I always say that AI should be making our lawyers more human, not less,” Jen Sellitti, the New Jersey public defender, told Law360, which has additional coverage. “If I can automate the mundane, I give them the opportunity to spend more time sitting across the table from a client, and that’s not only what we should be doing, it’s what lawyers came to this work to do.”
One impetus for the project was that commercially available AI systems were not designed for the language, legal reasoning or security requirements of public defense, the public defender’s office said. The public defender’s office and its partners instead set out to build a new tool that supports the existing workflows of public defenders while minimizing risks related to AI.
Sellitti described the OPD Resource Library as a “first-of-its-kind” tool that puts New Jersey at the front of the pack on AI adoption, Law360 reports.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
