Judge Castel sanctions lawyers for submitting fake cases generated by ChatGPT
In a recent court ruling, Judge Castel has imposed sanctions on two lawyers and their law firm after they submitted fake cases that were generated by ChatGPT, a new technology. The lawyers have been fined $5,000 for their actions.
The series of events leading to the sanctions began on March 1 when the plaintiff’s lawyers presented an affirmation opposing the defendant’s motion to dismiss, which included references to the fake cases. On March 15, the defendant responded with a reply brief that raised doubts about the existence of many of the cases mentioned in the plaintiff’s submission.
After reviewing the reply and failing to locate several of the cited cases himself, Judge Castel ordered the plaintiff’s lawyers to produce the cases in question. The lawyers provided an affidavit with excerpts of the cases on April 25. However, upon examining them, Judge Castel discovered that the decisions showed stylistic and reasoning flaws that do not generally appear in decisions from federal courts. Moreover, the legal analysis presented in the cases was found to be gibberish. As a result, on May 4, the judge ordered the plaintiff’s lawyers to explain why they should not face sanctions.
It wasn’t until May 25 that one of the lawyers finally admitted to using ChatGPT for their legal research and being unaware that it could generate fake cases. Judge Castel criticized the lawyers for not immediately confessing their use of the technology and instead persevering with their false claims for six weeks after the fake cases were brought to the court’s attention. He concluded that their actions demonstrated bad faith, as they deliberately avoided the truth and made misleading statements to the court.
In light of the circumstances, Judge Castel sanctioned the lawyers and their firm with a $5,000 fine as a deterrent for similar conduct in the future.
It is worth noting that the judge considered the public attention surrounding the case when deciding on the severity of the sanctions. Additionally, he instructed the sanctioned lawyers to write letters to their client and the judges whose names were falsely attributed to the fabricated opinions.
This ruling serves as a warning to other legal professionals about the potential pitfalls and consequences of relying on emerging technologies like ChatGPT without fully understanding their capabilities and limitations. Judge Castel highlighted the importance of honesty and transparency in the legal profession, emphasizing the need for immediate admission and clarification when mistakes or improper actions occur.
By taking this firm stance, Judge Castel aims to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents and maintain the integrity of the legal system.
