Lawyer used ChatGPT for a murder appeal. It made up witnesses who never existed
- ChatGPT invented witness testimony in a New Mexico murder appeal filed by attorney Stephen Aarons.
- Stephen was fined $5,000 and referred to a disciplinary board after failing to verify the filing.
- Oscar Renee Sandoval’s appeal remains pending and is now being handled by public defender Kim Chavez Cook.
A New Mexico lawyer defending against a murder conviction case used ChatGPT. He then submitted a brief to the New Mexico Supreme Court that contained made-up police statements and witness accounts.
The New Mexico Supreme Court found that attorney Stephen Aarons failed to verify the AI-generated material. The judges said the document “contained false testimony from wholly fabricated witnesses.”
The court held Stephen in contempt Wednesday and ordered him to pay $5,000. His conduct will also go before an attorney disciplinary board. The judges said Stephen had “demonstrated a lack of remorse and a lack of concern for his client.”
Stephen said he used ChatGPT last year to condense the trial record after taking the appeal. He said he did not realize how far AI “hallucinations” could go or how confidently software could produce facts that never happened.
New Mexico judges punish Stephen after ChatGPT invents testimony inside Oscar’s murder appeal
Stephen, a private attorney based in Santa Fe, represented Oscar Renee Sandoval. Oscar pleaded not guilty to killing the mother of his children. He was later convicted and received life in prison last year. His appeal remains pending.
Stephen allegedly told reporters the error was an honest one. “I am remorseful but hopeful that the disciplinary board takes into account it was an honest mistake,” he said. “It is a lesson learned for all professionals who rely upon this powerful but sometimes unstable technology.”
A number of lawyers have already faced punishments for uncontrolled AI assistance. Cases have been brought against lawyers in both state and federal courts due to briefs that include fake cases, references, and misquoted legal provisions.
Stephen’s application stands out in this category as it includes false testimonies of witnesses in an appeal process.
Oscar’s case moved to Kim Chavez Cook, a New Mexico public defender, on September 2. Kim is now handling the appeal while the case remains open.
Tiru’s family sues OpenAI as Florida officials examine 16,000 ChatGPT chats tied to the FSU shooting
The other court battle involves ChatGPT following the shooting at Florida State University. An attorney representing the family of the deceased, Tiru Chabba, has sued OpenAI, ChatGPT, and Phoenix Ikner in a Federal court.
The case was filed in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Florida on Sunday. It is claimed that OpenAI should have taken action in this situation.
The law enforcement officials in Florida have released the ChatGPT transcripts of Phoenix. This contains queries on how to operate a gun, media coverage, the busiest time on FSU, the Columbine shooting, and making oneself infamous.
Tiru’s family attorney, Bakari Sellers, said the exchanges go back about 18 months and total around 16,000 “disturbing chats.”
“This is the same person who asked, you know, how can he become infamous? He asked about the Columbine shooting. He asked about what time should he go to campus? What time are most people going to be there?” Bakari said.
“He literally utilized open AI and Chat GPT as his co-conspirator, utilized it as a resource to carry out mass murder,” Bakari added. “There was nothing in place to prevent that from happening and so lives were lost. That’s the inherent danger, there has to be something in place to prevent that from happening.”
OpenAI rejected responsibility for the shooting. Spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company found an account believed to be associated with Phoenix after learning what happened and proactively shared the information with police. Drew said OpenAI is still cooperating with authorities.
“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” Drew said.
He said ChatGPT answered with factual material already widely available through public internet sources and did not promote illegal or harmful behavior. Drew also mentioned that hundreds of millions of people daily use ChatGPT for valid reasons.
According to Drew, OpenAI is constantly improving its tools that help in recognizing the intentions of the users, preventing misuse, and acting in case of any concerns about safety issues.
The current lawsuit came after a similar case in Florida. Attorney General James Uthmeier recently revealed that the criminal investigation was launched against OpenAI and ChatGPT by the Office of Statewide Prosecution.
The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.
Jai Hamid
Jai Hamid has been covering crypto, stock markets, technology, the global economy, and the geopolitical events that affect markets for the past 6 years. She has worked with blockchain-focused publications including AMB Crypto, Coin Edition, and CryptoTale on market analyses, major companies, regulation, and macroeconomic trends. She has attended London School of Journalism and thrice shared crypto market insights on one of Africa’s top TV networks.
