Hardwiring Justice: Artificial Intelligence for Defense Attorneys: Turning AI Into a Defense Tool

Justice Speakers Institute · Apr 7, 2026

This article is part of the Hardwiring Justice series on Artificial Intelligence and the Justice System. This is Part 3C in the series examining how AI is shaping policing, prosecution, defense practice, and the courts.*

Artificial intelligence (AI) may sound technical or distant, but it is already affecting criminal cases. Prosecutors’ offices use software tools that help draft motions, analyze patterns in past cases, summarize reports, and sort large amounts of digital evidence.[1] Courts rely on computerized risk scores to assist with bail and sentencing decisions. Probation departments…