Published opinion, 18 February 2026 · source · PDF · 15 pages
For those reasons, IT IS ORDERED that Heather Hersh pay to the clerk of court within 30 days a sanction of $2,500. I The first high-profile incident of AI-fabricated case citations in the federal courts occurred in the Sout hern District of New York. Larry Neumeister, Lawyers blame ChatGPT for tricking them into citing bogus case law, AP (June 8, 2023), https://apnews .com/article/artificial-intelligence- chatgpt-courts-e15023d7e6fdf4f099aa122437dbb59b.
Larry Neumeister, Lawyers blame ChatGPT for tricking them into citing bogus case law, AP (June 8, 2023), https://apnews .com/article/artificial-intelligence- chatgpt-courts-e15023d7e6fdf4f099aa122437dbb59b. In that case, the plaintiff’s AI-generated brief cited seven nonexistent cases. Mata v.
For example, the brief cited a case called Varghese v. China Southern Airlines Co., which did not exist, and the federal reporter citation led to a different case altogether. Id. at 151.
This problem now often manifests as false quotes or statements of law attributed to real cases, rather than the more easily recognizable fake cases. Following the Mata case and other reports of AI hallucinations in court filings, our court appointed a th ree-judge AI Subcommittee to study the issue in Spring 2024. The Subc ommittee developed a proposed rule.
2020). Other courts have noted that submitting a brief riddled with fabricated quotations and assertions is such an abuse. See Park v.
46.2 for failing to make inquiry into the validity of her argument). Regrettably, despite numerous news stories, CLE presentations, scholarly articles, and judicial entreaties, AI-hallucinated case citations have increasingly become an even greater problem in our courts, and the problem shows no sign of abating. Damien Ch arlotin, a French lawyer and data scientist, maintains a database that tracks court orders related to AI- hallucinated content.
Damien Ch arlotin, a French lawyer and data scientist, maintains a database that tracks court orders related to AI- hallucinated content. AI Hallucination Cases , Damien Charlotin, https://www.damiencharlotin.com/hallucinations (last visited Feb. 18, 2 0 2 6 ) .
18, 2 0 2 6 ) . A s o f t h e d a t e o f t h i s o r d e r , Charlotin has identified 239 cases of hallucination by lawyers in the United States. Id.