US News
New Mexico court sanctions lawyer who used ChatGPT to generate brief
Attorney Stephen Aarons was fined $5,000 after filing an appeal that included fabricated witnesses and testimony.
The short version
- The New Mexico Supreme Court found attorney Stephen Aarons in contempt and fined him $5,000 for filing an appeal brief featuring AI-generated witnesses and false police statements.[The Verge · Al Jazeera]
- Aarons, who was representing convicted murderer Oscar Renee Sandoval, said he used ChatGPT to summarize proceedings without realizing the tool could fabricate facts.[Al Jazeera]
- The state high court is referring Aarons to an attorney disciplinary board for a formal investigation.[Al Jazeera]
Key facts
- The New Mexico Supreme Court held Stephen Aarons in contempt and imposed a $5,000 fine for submitting a brief with fake witnesses and police testimony generated by ChatGPT.[The Verge · Al Jazeera]
- Aarons stated that he used the AI model to summarize trial records and did not comprehend its propensity to hallucinate facts.[Al Jazeera]
- The court referred Aarons to an attorney disciplinary board for an investigation into the matter.[Al Jazeera]
- Aarons represented Oscar Renee Sandoval, who received a life sentence following a murder conviction.[Al Jazeera]
What remains uncertain
- The outcome of the attorney disciplinary board's investigation into Aarons remains undetermined.[Al Jazeera]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.