{
  "id": 6779001,
  "title": "ChatGPT invented fake police testimony in murder appeal, New Mexico high court says",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/chatgpt-invented-fake-police-testimony-in-murder-appeal-new-mexico-6779001",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-11T17:09:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Economic Times Tech",
    "slug": "economic-times-tech",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/chatgpt-invented-fake-police-testimony-in-murder-appeal-new-mexico-high-court-says/articleshow/134080805.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Wednesday, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that defense attorney Stephen Aarons acted in contempt by submitting a brief to the court containing fabricated police testimony and fabricated witnesses generated by OpenAI's ChatGPT. The court imposed a fine of $5,000 on Aarons for his failure to verify the accuracy of the court filing, which contained false testimony from completely invented witnesses. The panel also noted Aarons' lack of remorse and concern for his client. The court expressed incredulity that Aarons was unaware of the potential for AI to \"hallucinate\" facts, emphasizing that this is a recurring issue among lawyers relying on AI-generated content.",
  "summary": "The New Mexico Supreme Court on Wednesday fined the attorney, Stephen Aarons, and held him in contempt for failing to verify the accuracy of the court filing, which Aarons said he prepared with help from the AI program.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 7,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "ChatGPT invented fake police testimony in murder appeal, New Mexico high court says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/chatgpt-invented-fake-police-testimony-in-murder-appeal-new-mexico",
        "published": "2026-09-11T12:08:41.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times",
        "title": "Mumbai man used ChatGPT to fake PMO ID ‘to boost social standing’, police tell court",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/mumbai-man-used-chatgpt-to-fake-pmo-id-to-boost-social-standing",
        "published": "2026-09-11T12:11:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Quartz",
        "title": "New Mexico court held a lawyer in contempt for using ChatGPT to fake testimony in a murder appeal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/new-mexico-court-held-a-lawyer-in-contempt-for-using-chatgpt-to-fake",
        "published": "2026-09-11T13:40:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "NDTV",
        "title": "ChatGPT Wrote Fake Police Testimony In Murder Trial, Lawyer Fined $5,000",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/chatgpt-wrote-fake-police-testimony-in-murder-trial-lawyer-fined-5-000",
        "published": "2026-09-11T14:28:18.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Times of India",
        "title": "Mumbai mall entry case: Man used ChatGPT to create fake PMO docs, police tell court",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/mumbai-mall-entry-case-man-used-chatgpt-to-create-fake-pmo-docs",
        "published": "2026-09-11T14:34:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Jerusalem Post",
        "title": "ChatGPT invented fake police testimony in murder appeal, New Mexico high court says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/chatgpt-invented-fake-police-testimony-in-murder-appeal-new-mexico-6794473",
        "published": "2026-09-11T20:35:11.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}