New Mexico lawyer fined US$5,000 for filing AI-fabricated witness evidence

A New Mexico lawyer, Stephen Aarons, has been fined US$5,000 after submitting court documents that contained AI-generated, fabricated police and witness evidence in an appeal against a murder conviction. The New Mexico Supreme Court in Santa Fe ruled Aarons in contempt of court on Wednesday for submitting documents he failed to verify.

The court found the filings included false testimony from entirely fabricated witnesses. Aarons admitted to using the AI program, ChatGPT, to assist in preparing the filings, but showed no remorse and did not consider his client's well-being. The judges commented that Aarons "showed no remorse and did not care about his client."

The court fine of US$5,000 (RM203,515) will be referred to the state bar disciplinary board for further investigation. Aarons, a private defense lawyer based in Santa Fe, stated he used ChatGPT to summarize trial proceedings after agreeing to handle the defendant’s appeal last year. He expressed regret for his mistake and hoped the disciplinary board would consider it as such, emphasizing this as a lesson for professionals relying on technology.

OpenAI did not comment on the matter. Aarons represented Oscar Renee Sandoval, who pleaded not guilty to murdering his children's mother and was sentenced to life imprisonment last year. Sandoval's appeal is still pending and was transferred to another New Mexico defense lawyer, Kim Chavez Cook, who declined to comment. This case underscores the increasing concerns over lawyers using AI-generated legal material without proper verification, as judges in state and federal courts have become more strict in sanctioning such practices, especially when fabricated witness testimony is involved in criminal appeals.