# A lawyer fed ChatGPT a murder appeal, and it invented witnesses

> New Mexico's Supreme Court fined a defense lawyer $5,000 after his AI-written brief cited witnesses who never existed.
- Title: A lawyer fed ChatGPT a murder appeal, and it invented…
- Summary: New Mexico's Supreme Court fined a defense lawyer $5,000 after his AI-written brief cited witnesses who never existed. AI output is a draft, not a source. If…
- Keywords: law, chatgpt, hallucinations, courts, technology, culture, lawyer, fed, murder, appeal, invented, witnesses
- Source: The Verge — https://theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/994207/chatgpt-new-mexico-lawyer-fined-murder-appeal
- Author: Emma Roth
- Published: 2026-09-11T20:44:02+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ai, law, chatgpt, hallucinations, courts, technology, culture
## A $5,000 fine and contempt
New Mexico's Supreme Court fined lawyer Stephen Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt for not verifying the facts and legal authority in his AI-generated brief.

> verify the factual claims and legal authority in his AI-generated brief
## The witnesses did not exist
This was an appeal of a client's murder conviction. The brief carried testimony from witnesses the AI made up, plus invented police statements about the shooter's clothing and appearance.

> contained false testimony from wholly fabricated witnesses
## He expected a bulletproof summary
At an August hearing, Aarons admitted he used ChatGPT to summarize the trial and believed the result would be airtight. He said he did not understand the risk.
## Counsel, do you watch the news?
Justice C. Shannon Bacon could not fathom how a practicing lawyer had missed the story. AI fabrications in court filings have been front-page news for over a year.

> Because the problem with lawyers relying on AI hallucinations is an above-the-fold story every single day.
## This keeps happening
A judge recently slammed two law firms for a brief stuffed with false citations and quotations. Lawyers for MyPillow's Mike Lindell were fined over AI-generated misquotes and fake citations.
## An honest mistake, he says
Aarons told Reuters he is remorseful and hopes the disciplinary board weighs his intent. The fine stands either way, and the appeal was for a man convicted of murder.

> I am remorseful but hopeful that the disciplinary board takes into account it was an honest mistake
## Key takeaway

AI output is a draft, not a source. If you file it under your name, you own every fact in it, invented or not.