Published opinion, 1 October 2025 · source · PDF · 19 pages
II. The Mother’s Reply Brief and Counsel’s Use of Cases “Hallucinated” by an Artificial Intelligence Program Issues with artificial intelligence (AI) have reached most areas of American life, and our courtroom is no exception. In August of this year, this court “stress[ed] that self -represented litigants and attorneys alike have a duty to independently verify the authenticity and veracity of all sources and assertions when relying on artificial intelligence tools to prepare trial or appellate court filings. ” Luke v.
Particular to this case, our court discovered while preparing for oral argument that the mother’s reply brief appeared to include citations to cases and statutory text that do not exist and described other authorities so erroneously that no reasonable attorney could have made the error.
I n response to our order , counsel for the mother acknowledged the following material facts in her written response: • Her reply brief contained “citations to cases and statutes that do not exist, or are not accurately quoted.” • She did not know the citations were hallucinated or the quotes from real authorities were inaccurate “until the court identified them as such” in our order demanding an explanation. • Due to login issues her with her Westlaw subscription, she “relied on her prior research notes along with secondary AI-driven research tools,” and this AI program was the source of the fabricated or hallucinated citations and inaccurate quotations. • She admits these citations […]
In considering what if any sanction to impose, we have surveyed how other jurisdictions have dealt with the issue.2 We have also reviewed a database of cases (including hyperlinked opinions) in which courts across the globe have addressed “hallucinated” content generated by AI—more than 355 cases as of oral argument in this case on September 9, 2025 .3 We accept counsel’s assertions at face value , and we credit her statement at oral argument that she was “humbled and haunted” by her conduct and our discovery of the same.
July 21, 2025). 3 See Damien Charlotin, AI Hallucination Cases , Damien Charlotin: Data (Sept. 9, 2025), https://perma.cc/F9LX-JJBY.