ChatGPT invented fake police testimony in murder appeal, New Mexico high court says

New Mexico's highest court fined defense attorney Stephen Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt for submitting a murder appeal brief containing fabricated police testimony and witnesses generated by OpenAI's ChatGPT. The court referred Aarons to a disciplinary board, citing a lack of remorse and concern for his client, Oscar Renee Sandoval, who was convicted of murder. The case highlights a growing trend of lawyers being sanctioned for using AI-generated content without verification.

New Mexico's highest court sanctioned defense attorney Stephen Aarons for submitting a murder appeal brief that contained fabricated police testimony and witnesses created by OpenAI's ChatGPT. The New Mexico Supreme Court fined Aarons $5,000, held him in contempt, and referred him to an attorney disciplinary board for investigation. The court stated the filing "contained false testimony from wholly fabricated witnesses" and noted Aarons "demonstrated a lack of remorse and a lack of concern for his client." Aarons, a Santa Fe private attorney, was handling the appeal of Oscar Renee Sandoval, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for murdering the mother of his children. Aarons told the court he fed case materials to ChatGPT, expecting a "bulletproof summary," and did not understand the AI's potential to hallucinate facts. The justices expressed incredulity at his lack of awareness, with Justice C. Shannon Bacon asking if he followed news about AI hallucinations in legal filings. The case is part of a growing trend of lawyers being sanctioned for submitting AI-generated court documents without verification. The appeal has been reassigned to public defender Kim Chavez Cook.