Source: Markets Insider / Business Insider

Frisco, TEXAS, Sept. 22, 2026 — Concierra Legal filed an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court of Texas on behalf of the Institute for Constitutional AI Law (CAIL) in In re Patrick Hughey, No. 25-0463, asking the court to consider how limits on lower-cost recording and transcription methods affect meaningful access to the courts. The brief supports Hughey’s petition for mandamus relief after a Montgomery County trial court struck and barred use of a written deposition transcript prepared with AI assistance from a nonstenographic recording. CAIL contends that Rules 199.1 and 203.6 permit nonstenographic recording and use of such transcriptions, subject to foundational verification, and that a certified transcript should be required only for good cause rather than categorically.

The filing urges a narrow ruling preserving the procedural balance that allows authorized nonstenographic methods while leaving judges discretion to demand certified shorthand transcripts when justified. The brief emphasizes the constitutional open-courts guarantee and connects the cost of making a record to the practical ability to pursue or defend claims, disclosing no pecuniary interest by the Institute or its volunteer counsel. It also notes that the court-reporting profession already uses AI-assisted tools and argues that reliability should be judged by whether records can be preserved, verified, challenged, and corrected. CAIL asks the Supreme Court of Texas to grant the writ and direct the trial court to vacate its order striking the AI-assisted transcription.