Lawyer fined $5K over AI-hallucinated witnesses in a murder case

New Mexico’s Supreme Court has fined lawyer Stephen Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt for including AI-fabricated witnesses and false police testimony in an appeal for a murder conviction. The court filing noted that the brief contained entirely fake testimony and inaccurate descriptions of the shooter. During an August hearing, Aarons admitted to using ChatGPT to generate a summary of the trial, believing it would be accurate. Justice C. Shannon Bacon questioned his lack of awareness regarding AI risks, stating, "Do you watch the news? Do you listen to the radio? Do you read anything about what’s going on in the world? Because the problem with lawyers relying on AI hallucinations is an above-the-fold story every single day." As more legal professionals adopt AI tools, courts are increasingly encountering fabricated citations and hallucinations. Similar incidents have occurred previously, with judges sanctioning firms for misleading briefs. Aarons has expressed remorse, characterizing the incident as an "honest mistake."