A defence lawyer appealing his client’s murder conviction submitted a brief containing made-up police testimony and witnesses fabricated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, New Mexico’s highest court said.
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Wednesday fined the attorney, Stephen Aarons, and held him in contempt for failing to verify the accuracy of the court filing, which Aarons said he prepared with help from the AI program.
The filing “contained false testimony from wholly fabricated witnesses,” the court said.
Lawyer Fined and Referred for Disciplinary Action Over AI Use
Aarons has been fined $5,000 by the panel, which noted his “lack of remorse and concern for his client.” The justices also decided to refer him to an attorney disciplinary board for further investigation.
In a statement to Reuters, Aarons explained that he utilized ChatGPT to summarize trial proceedings when he took on the defendant’s appeal last year. He admitted he did not fully grasp the extent to which AI could produce inaccurate information, commonly referred to as “hallucination.”
This sanction against Aarons highlights a growing trend, as state and federal judges increasingly discipline lawyers for submitting court documents generated by AI tools without proper verification.
