Lawyer fined $5K over AI-hallucinated witnesses in a murder case
New Mexico Supreme Court fined lawyer Stephen Aarons $5,000 for filing a murder appeal brief with ChatGPT-fabricated witnesses and testimony.
New Mexico's Supreme Court fined lawyer Stephen Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt for an appeal brief in a murder conviction case that contained AI-fabricated witnesses and false testimony about the shooter's clothing and appearance. Aarons admitted using ChatGPT and believing it would produce a bulletproof summary of the trial. Justice C. Shannon Bacon questioned how he could be unaware of AI hallucination risks, noting such cases are frequently in the news. The sanction follows other courts fining lawyers for AI-generated fake citations, including two law firms and Mike Lindell's legal team.
- New Mexico Supreme Court fined Stephen Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt over an AI-generated brief
- Brief contained fabricated witnesses and false testimony about the shooter's clothing
- Justice questioned how Aarons was unaware of AI hallucination risks
- Latest in a series of court sanctions for AI-fabricated citations and testimony
Full article399 words · extracted from theverge.com · click to collapse
A justice asked, ‘Counsel, do you watch the news?’ when a lawyer admitted to relying on ChatGPT without understanding the risks.
A justice asked, ‘Counsel, do you watch the news?’ when a lawyer admitted to relying on ChatGPT without understanding the risks.
by Emma Roth
Sep 11, 2026, 8:44 PM UTC
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images
Emma Roth
is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
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 authority in his AI-generated brief.”
The filing says the brief “contained false testimony from wholly fabricated witnesses,” along with “false testimony” about the shooter’s clothing and appearance. Justice C. Shannon Bacon questioned how Aarons wasn’t aware of the risks posed by AI during an August hearing, where he admitted to using ChatGPT and thinking it would generate a “bulletproof summary” of the trial. “Counsel, do you watch the news? Do you listen to the radio? Do you read anything about what’s going on in the world?” Justice Bacon said, according to Reuters. “Because the problem with lawyers relying on AI hallucinations is an above-the-fold story every single day.”
With the number of lawyers using AI tools in their work increasing, so are the instances in which a court discovers citations that are fabricated — or hallucinated — by AI. Last year, a judge slammed two law firms for submitting a brief with “numerous false, inaccurate, and misleading legal citations and quotations,” while lawyers for MyPillow’s Mike Lindell were also fined for putting AI-generated misquotes and fake AI citations in a brief.
”I am remorseful but hopeful that the disciplinary board takes into account it was an honest mistake,” Aarons says in a statement to Reuters.
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