ChatGPT-Using Lawyer Cited Its Fake Witnesses and Police Testimony in Court

In a shocking turn of events, a New Mexico defense lawyer, Stephen Aarons, has been fined $5,000 and held in contempt by the New Mexico Supreme Court for submitting a brief to the court containing fabricated police testimony and witness statements generated by ChatGPT, an AI-powered program from OpenAI. According to court records, Aarons claimed he utilized ChatGPT to summarize the trial proceedings when he agreed to take up the defendant's appeal last year. However, he admitted to not fully comprehending the potential for the AI to fabricate facts.

During an August 21 hearing, Aarons expressed remorse for his actions but hoped that the disciplinary board would consider it an honest mistake. The court expressed incredulity at Aarons' apparent lack of awareness regarding the pitfalls of relying on AI-generated information, emphasizing that similar incidents involving lawyers filing briefs containing AI-made up case citations or misquoted legal provisions have become increasingly commonplace.

Justice C. Shannon Bacon remarked during the hearing, "Counsel, do you watch the news? Do you listen to the radio? Do you read anything about what's going on in the world?" The justices were evidently dismayed by Aarons' failure to exercise due diligence in verifying the accuracy of the AI-generated material before incorporating it into the court filing. As a result of this incident, the New Mexico Supreme Court has decided to refer Aarons to an attorney disciplinary board for further investigation.