Lawyer fined $5,000 for using ChatGPT in a murder case
What's the story
The New Mexico Supreme Court has slapped a $5,000 fine on Stephen Aarons, a lawyer who used artificial intelligence (AI) tools inappropriately in a murder case. Aarons submitted a brief containing fabricated police testimony and witness statements generated by ChatGPT. The court fined Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt for failing to verify the factual claims and legal authority in his AI-generated brief.
AI misuse
Justice questioned Aarons's lack of awareness about AI dangers
Justice C. Shannon Bacon questioned Aarons's lack of awareness about the dangers posed by AI during an August hearing.
The lawyer had admitted to using ChatGPT, believing it would provide a "bulletproof summary" of the trial.
Justice Bacon asked him if he followed current events, highlighting that issues with lawyers relying on AI hallucinations are widely reported in the news.
Remorse expressed
Trend of lawyers getting penalized for AI misuse
Aarons has expressed regret over the incident, hoping that the disciplinary board would consider it an honest mistake.
He had used ChatGPT to summarize trial proceedings when he accepted the defendant's case last year. However, he was unaware of how much the chatbot could "hallucinate" facts.
His case comes amid a rising trend in US courts where lawyers have been penalized for using AI tools without properly vetting their court documents before submission.
AI errors
Filing included fabricated witness testimony in criminal appeal
Aarons's filing included fabricated witness testimony in a criminal appeal, which is a more serious case of AI misuse.
The court noted that the filing contained false testimony from completely made-up witnesses.
It also said that Aarons had shown no remorse and was indifferent toward his client.
The panel will now refer Aarons to an attorney disciplinary board for further investigation into this matter.