Federal Judge Sanctions Lawyers for Using AI-Generated Fake Citations in Alabama Prison Case

Judge disqualifies three Butler Snow attorneys from case over AI citations

July 24 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Alabama disqualified three lawyers from U.S. law firm Butler Snow from a case after they inadvertently included made-up citations generated by artificial intelligence in court filings. U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco in a Wednesday order, opens new tab reprimanded the lawyers at the Mississippi-founded firm for making false statements in court and referred the issue to the Alabama State Bar, which handles attorney disciplinary matters. Manasco did not impose monetary sanctions, as some judges have done in other cases across the country involving AI use. Fabricating legal authority "demands substantially greater accountability than the reprimands and modest fines that have become common as courts confront this form of AI misuse," Manasco said. "As a practical matter, time is telling us - quickly and loudly - that those sanctions are insufficient deterrents." The case is the latest example of a judge sanctioning or admonishing lawyers as AI-generated "hallucinations" have continued to crop up in court filings ever since ChatGPT and other generative AI programs became widely available. Professional rules require lawyers to vet their work however it is produced. The three Butler Snow lawyers were part of a team defending former Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn in an inmate's lawsuit alleging he was repeatedly attacked in prison. Dunn has denied wrongdoing. The judge said the three lawyers' conduct was "tantamount to bad faith." She sanctioned partner Matthew Reeves, who admitted to using AI to generate the citations and including them in the filings without verification. Reeves in a May filing apologized to the court and said he regretted his "lapse in diligence and judgment." She also disqualified partners William Cranford and William Lunsford, who each signed their names onto the filings. The lawyers said in May filings that they did not independently review the legal citations that were added. Reeves, Cranford and Lunsford did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. The judge declined to sanction Butler Snow, finding the firm "acted reasonably in its efforts to prevent this misconduct and doubled down on its precautionary and responsive measures when its nightmare scenario unfolded." The firm previously warned its attorneys about the risks of AI and escalated the issue after the court issued an order for the lawyers to explain what happened in the case. Butler Snow also mounted an internal investigation and retained another firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, for an independent review to verify citations in 40 other cases, the judge said. A Butler Snow spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did one of the lawyers representing plaintiff Frankie Johnson, or a lawyer from the Alabama attorney general's office, which had appointed Lunsford to litigate on behalf of the state, according to the order. The judge ordered the three lawyers to share a copy of the order with their clients, opposing lawyers and judges in other pending state or federal cases in which they are involved, and also to every lawyer at Butler Snow. Reporting by Sara Merken Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Government * Judiciary * Public Policy Sara Merken Thomson Reuters Sara Merken reports on the business of law, including legal innovation and law firms in New York and nationally.

Judge sanctions lawyers defending Alabama's prison system for using fake ChatGPT cases in filings

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- A federal judge reprimanded lawyers with a high-priced firm defending Alabama's prison system for using ChatGPT to write court filings with "completely made up" case citations. U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco publicly reprimanded three lawyers with Butler Snow, the law firm hired to defend Alabama and other jurisdictions in lawsuits against their prison systems. The order sanctioned William R. Lunsford, the head of the firm division that handles prison litigation, along with Matthew B. Reeves and William J. Cranford. "Fabricating legal authority is serious misconduct that demands a serious sanction," Manasco wrote in the Wednesday sanctions order. Manasco removed the three from participating in the case where the false citations were filed and directed them to share the sanctions order with clients, opposing lawyers and judges in all of their other cases. She also referred the matter to the Alabama State Bar for possible disciplinary action. Butler Snow is representing Alabama in multiple lawsuits involving its prison system. Alabama has paid Lunsford and his firm more than $40 million since 2020, according to state spending records. Butler Snow lawyers had repeatedly apologized during an earlier hearing before Manasco. They said an attorney used artificial intelligence to research supporting case law but did not verify the information before adding it to two filings with the federal court. Those citations turned out to be "hallucinations" -- meaning incorrect citations -- by the AI system. "In simpler terms, the citations were completely made up," Manasco wrote. She added that using the citations without verifying their accuracy was "recklessness in the extreme." The filings in question were made in a lawsuit filed by an inmate who was stabbed on multiple occasions at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County. The lawsuit alleges that prison officials are failing to keep inmates safe.

Judge sanctions lawyers defending Alabama's prison system for using fake ChatGPT cases in filings

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- A federal judge reprimanded lawyers with a high-priced firm defending Alabama's prison system for using ChatGPT to write court filings with "completely made up" case citations. U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco publicly reprimanded three lawyers with Butler Snow, the law firm hired to defend Alabama and other jurisdictions in lawsuits against their prison systems. The order sanctioned William R. Lunsford, the head of the firm division that handles prison litigation, along with Matthew B. Reeves and William J. Cranford. "Fabricating legal authority is serious misconduct that demands a serious sanction," Manasco wrote in the Wednesday sanctions order. Manasco removed the three from participating in the case where the false citations were filed and directed them to share the sanctions order with clients, opposing lawyers and judges in all of their other cases. She also referred the matter to the Alabama State Bar for possible disciplinary action. Butler Snow is representing Alabama in multiple lawsuits involving its prison system. Alabama has paid Lunsford and his firm more than $40 million since 2020, according to state spending records. Butler Snow lawyers had repeatedly apologized during an earlier hearing before Manasco. They said an attorney used artificial intelligence to research supporting case law but did not verify the information before adding it to two filings with the federal court. Those citations turned out to be "hallucinations" -- meaning incorrect citations -- by the AI system. "In simpler terms, the citations were completely made up," Manasco wrote. She added that using the citations without verifying their accuracy was "recklessness in the extreme." The filings in question were made in a lawsuit filed by an inmate who was stabbed on multiple occasions at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County. The lawsuit alleges that prison officials are failing to keep inmates safe.

Judge Sanctions Lawyers Defending Alabama's Prison System for Using Fake ChatGPT Cases in Filings

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- A federal judge reprimanded lawyers with a high-priced firm defending Alabama's prison system for using ChatGPT to write court filings with "completely made up" case citations. U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco publicly reprimanded three lawyers with Butler Snow, the law firm hired to defend Alabama and other jurisdictions in lawsuits against their prison systems. The order sanctioned William R. Lunsford, the head of the firm division that handles prison litigation, along with Matthew B. Reeves and William J. Cranford. "Fabricating legal authority is serious misconduct that demands a serious sanction," Manasco wrote in the Wednesday sanctions order. Manasco removed the three from participating in the case where the false citations were filed and directed them to share the sanctions order with clients, opposing lawyers and judges in all of their other cases. She also referred the matter to the Alabama State Bar for possible disciplinary action. Butler Snow is representing Alabama in multiple lawsuits involving its prison system. Alabama has paid Lunsford and his firm more than $40 million since 2020, according to state spending records. Butler Snow lawyers had repeatedly apologized during an earlier hearing before Manasco. They said an attorney used artificial intelligence to research supporting case law but did not verify the information before adding it to two filings with the federal court. Those citations turned out to be "hallucinations" -- meaning incorrect citations -- by the AI system. "In simpler terms, the citations were completely made up," Manasco wrote. She added that using the citations without verifying their accuracy was "recklessness in the extreme." The filings in question were made in a lawsuit filed by an inmate who was stabbed on multiple occasions at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County. The lawsuit alleges that prison officials are failing to keep inmates safe.