ChatGPT invented fake police testimony in murder appeal, New Mexico high court says
The court said the brief included fabricated witness testimony and fined Stephen Aarons $5,000, then referred him for disciplinary review.
- On Wednesday, the New Mexico Supreme Court fined attorney Stephen Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt for submitting an appellate brief containing police testimony and witnesses fabricated by OpenAI's ChatGPT.
- Aarons, representing Oscar Renee Sandoval in a murder appeal, used ChatGPT to summarize trial proceedings last year, seeking what he believed would be a 'bulletproof summary' for his filing.
- According to the court, the brief contained 'false testimony from wholly fabricated witnesses,' including 'fictional statements that the shooter was wearing dark pants and a white shirt,' which Aarons failed to verify.
- Supreme Court Justice C. Shannon Bacon expressed disbelief that Aarons was unaware of AI's tendency to generate false information, while the court referred him to an attorney disciplinary board for investigation.
- The case joins a growing number where judges have disciplined lawyers for submitting unvetted AI documents. Aarons stated he is 'remorseful but hopeful that the disciplinary board takes into account it was an honest mistake.
42 Articles
42 Articles
Lawyer fined $5K over AI-hallucinated witnesses in a murder case
New Mexico's Supreme Court is punishing a lawyer for including AI-fabricated witnesses and fake police testimony in an appeal for his client's murder conviction, according to a report from Reuters. In a filing on Wednesday, the court fined Stephen Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt for failing to "verify the factual claims and legal […]
The Independent
The Independent (US)Lawyer’s ChatGPT use backfires as he’s held in contempt over fake testimony
The defense attorney called the errors ‘an honest mistake’
A lawyer in the United States was sanctioned after using ChatGPT to prepare an appeal in a murder file, and the document later arrived in court contained information invented by artificial intelligence, including testimony attributed to police officers and statements of witnesses who, in reality, did not exist.
The appeal of his client's murder conviction contained "false testimony from entirely fabricated witnesses," the New Mexico Supreme Court noted.
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