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AI in Jury Research: Game Changer or Trouble Maker?

Brittany Pavlin
Dec 9, 2025
3 min read

Artificial intelligence has moved from a futuristic idea to something that sits squarely inside modern legal practice. It is reshaping how attorneys and consultants prepare for trial, evaluate jurors, and sift through mountains of digital information. AI is fast, efficient, and incredibly powerful. It can also create entirely fictional content that looks polished enough to fool seasoned professionals.

That mix of innovation and risk is precisely why the legal field is paying close attention.

AI Helps Jury Consultants Work Smarter

AI has become a significant tool in jury research because it can process more data in an afternoon than a human team could review in weeks. Social media discovery is a perfect example. What started as a cutting-edge idea is now a standard part of understanding juror sentiment and online behavior. AI tools scan posts, identify patterns, highlight potential biases, and help map out a more complete picture of who a juror might be.

The key to making this information reliable is the human review that follows. AI collects the data. Consultants interpret it, verify it, and decide what actually matters. Without that human oversight, even the best tools can lead a case in the wrong direction.

And when AI is used without verification, the results can be disastrous.

When AI Creates Fiction That Looks Like Law

Two recent legal incidents made national headlines because of a growing problem in generative AI called hallucination. A hallucination happens when AI produces something that sounds accurate but is entirely made up.

In Mata v. Avianca, Inc. (S.D.N.Y. 2023), attorneys submitted a brief with case citations that looked legitimate. The problem was that several of those cases did not exist. The court uncovered fake judicial opinions generated by ChatGPT and sanctioned the attorneys involved. It became one of the first prominent public warnings that AI cannot be trusted blindly in legal research.

Then came another high-profile moment.

In February 2025, a federal judge in Wyoming fined attorneys from Morgan and Morgan and Goody Law Group for filing a motion that contained multiple AI-generated cases that were fake. One attorney admitted their internal AI tool hallucinated the citations. The motion had to be withdrawn, and sanctions were issued under Rule 11.

Both cases showed the same pattern. AI produced something that looked real. Attorneys trusted it. Courts caught it. And the consequences were immediate.

Where Technology And Judgment Meet

AI offers speed and scale, while human consultants bring the context and strategy that technology cannot. The real power of modern jury research sits right where those strengths come together. AI expands how far and how fast we can search. It can sweep through massive amounts of online information and spot patterns in seconds. Human consultants step in to verify those findings and translate them into something that actually matters for a case. For legal teams trying to stay ahead, the message is simple. AI will never replace human judgment. When it is used carelessly, it can undermine a case. When it is used wisely, it becomes one of the most valuable tools available to today’s jury consultants.