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Sanctions watch

Every incident where a lawyer got caught filing AI-fabricated citations. The Hall of Shame.

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858
Incidents tracked
265
Incidents in 2026
$2,417,608
In fines, where reported
214 of 858 report an amount

The curve

Incidents per month

Last 18 months of published incidents, by the date of the court's order.

Apr 2025 Sep 2026

Charting 450 of 858 incidents; the rest are undated or fall outside this window.

Blamed by name

ChatGPT 151 Claude 9 CoCounsel 8 Copilot 8 Gemini 8 Lexis+ AI 6 AI-assisted legal software 4 Westlaw Precision 4 ChatGPT-4o 2 ChatOn 2 Eve 2 Google AI 2 LEAP 2 Perplexity AI 2 AI Overviews 1 Archie 1 Centient AI 1 ChatGPT-4 1 ClearBrief 1 CoCounsel, Westlaw Precision, Google Gem 1 Descrybe.ai 1 First Drafts 1 GPT-3.5 1 Ghostwriter Legal 1 Google Scholar 1 Grammarly 1 Grok 1 Irys 1 Legal Genius 1 LegalAI 1 MX2.law 1 OpenCase 1 Strongsuit 1 vLex Fastcase 1

Counts only incidents where the filing court or the reporting named the tool.

Hall of Shame

All Fined 251 Caught, not sanctioned 199 Warned 125 Referred to the bar 101 Reprimanded 86 Outcome unclear 56 Filing dismissed 37 Suspension 2 Upcoming sanction 1
Fined $10K ChatGPT
A California attorney filed ChatGPT-generated fake case quotes and citations, and the state appeals court fined the lawyer $10,000.
California attorney sanctioned for ChatGPT-generated fake case quotes and citations · state appeals court · CA
ai.plainenglish.io ↗
The file →
  • A California attorney was sanctioned for ChatGPT-fabricated case quotes.
  • The lawyer submitted 21 of 23 quotes that ChatGPT had completely fabricated.
  • The court fined the lawyer $10,000.
  • The sanction came from a state appeals court in California.
  • The page names ChatGPT as the source of the fake citations.
Fined $5K
The court sanctioned attorneys $2,500 each and imposed a six-month suspension for AI-fabricated citations after repeated denials of AI use.
Ninth Circuit's Precedential AI-Hallucination Sanctions · Ninth Circuit
github.com ↗
The file →
  • Ninth Circuit's Precedential AI-Hallucination Sanctions
  • Attorneys used AI-fabricated citations and one denied AI use three times before admitting it.
  • The court imposed $2,500 each plus a six-month suspension, totaling $5,000.
  • The page identifies the court as the Ninth Circuit.
  • The order is described as a published appellate order.
Caught, not sanctioned
A federal judge cancelled a trial and removed all four attorneys after both sides filed briefs citing AI-fabricated case law.
Mississippi Trial Cancelled Over Dual-Counsel AI Hallucinations · MS
github.com ↗
The file →
  • Mississippi Trial Cancelled Over Dual-Counsel AI Hallucinations
  • Both plaintiff and defense counsel filed briefs citing AI-fabricated case law.
  • The judge cancelled the trial and removed all four attorneys.
  • The page identifies this as a federal case in Mississippi.
  • The page says it was the first simultaneous sanction of opposing counsel for the same AI misuse.
Caught, not sanctioned
Judge P. Kevin Castel ordered the firm's attorneys to write apology letters to judges falsely named as authors of fake AI-generated cases.
Levidow, Levidow & Oberman attorneys · Levidow, Levidow & Oberman · federal court in New York · NY
findlaw.com ↗
The file →
  • Attorneys of Levidow, Levidow & Oberman were ordered to respond to AI-fabricated citations.
  • The filing involved fake cases generated by AI that falsely named judges as authors.
  • The court ordered apology letters, not a monetary sanction.
  • Federal court in New York; Judge P. Kevin Castel.
  • The order required letters to each judge falsely identified as the author of a fake case.
Caught, not sanctioned ChatGPT
A lawyer filed a brief with fabricated case law invented by ChatGPT, and the court sanctioned him after the error was uncovered.
ChatGPT Legal Case Incident
aihealthcarecompliance.com ↗
The file →
  • The page names "The ChatGPT Legal Case Incident" but gives no caption or lawyer name.
  • A lawyer submitted legal filings containing fabricated case law invented by ChatGPT.
  • The court sanctioned him after the error was uncovered.
  • No court, judge, date, or sanction amount is given on the page.
  • The page says Stanford HAI provides detailed analysis of the case.
Fined
Attorneys were fined after filings in the FIFA case contained inaccurate or nonexistent citations that suggested AI misuse.
FIFA case
“but the sheer number of inaccurate or nonexistent citations suggests otherwise.”
reuters.com ↗
The file →
  • FIFA case; attorneys unnamed on the page
  • Filings contained inaccurate or nonexistent citations
  • Court imposed a fine, but the amount is not stated
  • Court and location are not stated on the page
  • Attorneys denied using AI; judge said the citations suggested otherwise
Caught, not sanctioned
A filing in Provo's matter allegedly contained fraudulent AI-generated citations, and the page says he was sanctioned or narrowly avoided sanction in the Supreme Court context.
Timothy Robert Provo · Timothy Robert Provo · U.S. Supreme Court
supremecourt.gov ↗
The file →
  • Timothy Robert Provo was the named lawyer/matter on the page.
  • The page says the case exposed fraudulent AI-generated citations in filings.
  • The sanction outcome is not specifically stated on the page excerpt.
  • The court named is the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • No AI tool, date, or quoted judge language is given in the excerpt.

Showing 111–120 of 858.

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