The New Mexico Supreme Court held attorney Stephen Aarons in contempt and fined him $5,000 after he submitted an appellate brief containing fictitious police testimony and witnesses invented by ChatGPT. Aarons said he used the AI tool to summarize trial proceedings for a murder conviction appeal, claiming he didn't realize it could fabricate facts. The court is also referring him to a disciplinary board for further investigation.
slashdot.org
· 2026-09-15
The New Mexico Supreme Court found veteran defense attorney Stephen Aarons in direct contempt after he filed an appellate brief containing invented testimony from nonexistent witnesses, generated using ChatGPT. Aarons admitted he never verified the AI-produced content before submitting it in the appeal of client Oscar Renee Sandoval's murder conviction, nor did he tell his client about the errors. The case has been referred to a disciplinary board for further review.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-11
New Mexico's Supreme Court fined attorney Stephen Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt after he submitted an appeal brief containing AI-invented witnesses and false police testimony about a shooter's appearance. Aarons admitted he used ChatGPT expecting it to produce a reliable trial summary but never checked its accuracy before filing it in his client's murder case.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-11
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