A Washington County man charged with the 2022 murder of a New Kensington man told a Westmoreland County judge Friday he wants to represent himself at his upcoming trial with the help of an artificial intelligence lawyer.

Larry Osborn Nix II, 42, of West Brownsville is awaiting trial for criminal homicide. The charges against Nix were filed this summer and is the first prosecution to come from a county grand jury investigation into major crimes and unsolved murders.

Nix, during a status conference conducted by Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik- DeFazio, said he was unhappy with the pace of this case, wants to replace his court- appointed lawyer and get assistance at trial through the use of AI.

“I don’t want to keep postponing my case,” Nix said. “I shouldn’t have to wait, and I don’t want to be here (in jail).”

Nix has been in custody, without bond, since his arrest in June after the grand jury recommended he be charged in connection to the Dec. 9, 2022, murder of 31-year-old James Michael Hayes.

Hayes’ body was found in the parking lot behind the Kensington Arms Apartments in the 400 block of 11th Street. He had been shot in the head.

Prosecutors contend Hayes was shot as part of an ongoing dispute that involved drug dealing and a robbery.

Hayes was gunned down as he drove two other people through New Kensington, including a man police said was the victim of a November robbery that allegedly involved Hayes.

According to court records, witnesses told the grand jury that three men, including one who matched Nix’s description, fired on Hayes after he stopped his vehicle to retrieve a jacket from its trunk.

Police said security video from businesses and street cameras were used to place Nix and two other unidentified men near the shooting and linked him to a rental vehicle found at Pittsburgh International Airport.

DNA from Nix was found in the rented vehicle, police said.

Nix has denied the allegations and is seeking a quick trial.

The judge cautioned Nix to reconsider his request to serve as his own attorney and said she will convene a hearing next month to revisit the issue.

She quickly rejected his request for an AI lawyer.

“You are not going to be able to sit in my courtroom with AI,” Bilik-DeFazio said.

The use of artificial intelligence in the place of lawyers has become a growing trend, legal experts said.

Joseph R. Williams, a former president of the Allegheny County Bar Association, said more and more litigants are using AI in simple legal matters to assist them in filing court documents such as wills and some civil matters such as land-tenant disputes and divorces.

He doesn’t see AI as viable in more complex legal matters such as criminal defense.

“When you get into a courtroom, you’re talking about having to persuade a judge or jury. And with AI you’re missing a human element that is built in to be a part of our court system,” Williams said. “You’re going to see more people use AI.

“But for some things such as a criminal prosecution, there’s no way to replace a lawyer with the stroke of a keyboard.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)