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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
Filing dismissed
Dorthy Nichols, representing herself in an appeal, filed baseless legal citations and the court dismissed her appeal.
Dorthy Nichols · Dorthy Nichols · California court · CA
“Nichols “offered no meaningful explanation” and had filed “made-up” legal citations.”
ajc.com ↗
The file →
  • Dorthy Nichols was the self-represented litigant in the case.
  • She filed baseless and made-up legal citations.
  • The court dismissed her appeal.
  • A California court handled the matter.
  • The article quotes the court saying she offered no meaningful explanation.
Fined $2K
Yolanda Smith-Parker filed a divorce order with made-up citations, and the court criticized her and imposed a $2,500 fine.
Yolanda Smith-Parker · Yolanda Smith-Parker · DeKalb County Superior Court · GA
“The situation was “troubling,” said Judge Ana Keil Lynch.”
ajc.com ↗
The file →
  • Yolanda Smith-Parker was sanctioned in a divorce case.
  • She prepared an order with fabricated legal citations.
  • The court fined her $2,500.
  • DeKalb County Superior Court, Georgia.
  • Judge Ana Keil Lynch called the situation “troubling.”
Warned
An Atlanta lawyer prepared a divorce order containing bogus citations, and the Georgia Court of Appeals admonished him after a DeKalb County judge signed it.
Atlanta lawyer in a divorce matter · Atlanta lawyer · DeKalb County Superior Court · GA
ajc.com ↗
The file →
  • An Atlanta lawyer was admonished over a divorce order.
  • The order contained two bogus case citations.
  • The Georgia Court of Appeals admonished him after a DeKalb County judge signed it.
  • DeKalb County Superior Court, Georgia.
  • The article gives no sanction amount and no AI tool name.
Fined $6K
Brian G. Brady filed a document with bogus legal citations in a contract-breach case, and Judge Louis Sands fined him $6,500 and ordered AI-education costs.
Brian G. Brady · Brian G. Brady · U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia · GA
ajc.com ↗
The file →
  • Brian G. Brady was sanctioned in a federal Georgia case.
  • He admitted a filing had bogus legal citations generated with AI.
  • Judge Louis Sands imposed a $6,500 fine and AI-education costs.
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Georgia.
  • The article says Brady apologized and blamed an error by his staff.
Caught, not sanctioned
A condo owner filed an AI-generated submission with ghost citations and misquoted laws, and the Tribunal identified the hallucinations.
Janssen v. TSCC 1851 · Condominium Authority Tribunal
condoadviser.ca ↗
The file →
  • Janssen v. TSCC 1851 involved a condo owner before the Condominium Authority Tribunal.
  • He used an AI-generated submission with invented cases and misquoted laws.
  • The Tribunal identified the hallucinations; the post does not report a sanction.
  • The court was the Condominium Authority Tribunal in Ontario.
  • Published October 28, 2025; the article says the Tribunal had already warned the dispute likely fell outside its jurisdiction.
Caught, not sanctioned
A lawyer for MyPillow filed a brief with nearly 30 defective citations, and a federal judge in Colorado ruled on the filing.
MyPillow Inc. defamation case · a lawyer for MyPillow Inc · federal court in Colorado · CO
broadbandbreakfast.com ↗
The file →
  • MyPillow Inc.'s defamation case was singled out in the AP story.
  • A lawyer for MyPillow filed a brief containing nearly 30 defective citations.
  • The article says a federal judge in Colorado ruled on the filing.
  • The page reports the issue as AI-generated/hallucinated citations.
  • No sanction amount or named AI tool is given on the page.
Warned ChatGPT
A barrister misled the Tribunal by citing a fictitious Court of Appeal judgment generated by ChatGPT.
Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) · Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
ein.org.uk ↗
The file →
  • Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) involved a barrister
  • The barrister cited a fictitious Court of Appeal judgment generated by ChatGPT
  • The Tribunal issued guidance and a stern warning
  • Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), England and Wales
  • Date not given; the page says this happened after ChatGPT-generated citations misled the Tribunal
Caught, not sanctioned
Justice J.F. Kenkel found erroneous case citations in defence counsel’s submissions and ordered new submissions without GenAI.
R v Chand · Ontario Court of Justice
“there would be a “discussion” at the end of the trial about how the initial submissions were prepared”
claytonrice.com ↗
The file →
  • R v Chand involved erroneous case citations in defence submissions.
  • The court ordered new submissions without using GenAI.
  • No monetary sanction was imposed.
  • Ontario Court of Justice.
  • The page gives no exact date; Justice J.F. Kenkel said there would be a discussion at trial's end.
Warned
A plaintiff's lawyer filed AI-generated case references in a commercial dispute hearing, and the court issued a formal warning in its written judgment.
Beijing Tongzhou District People's Court commercial dispute hearing · Beijing Tongzhou District People's Court
aa.com.tr ↗
The file →
  • Beijing Tongzhou District People's Court commercial dispute hearing involving a plaintiff's lawyer.
  • The lawyer submitted two AI-generated case references that looked legitimate but were not real cases.
  • The court dismissed the AI-generated references and issued a formal warning.
  • Beijing Tongzhou District People's Court in Beijing, China.
  • Judge Zheng Jizhe discovered the citations; the lawyer said he had copied the AI model's generated outcomes into his filing.
Reprimanded ChatGPT
Three attorneys filed a motion with fabricated AI citations; a federal judge publicly reprimanded and disqualified them and referred them to the State Bar.
Alabama supervising attorney and others · federal judge · AL
“This was “an extreme dereliction of professional responsibility” and “lazy, convenient fictions” substituting for truth.”

Cases that don't exist

  • United States v. Baker
  • Kelley v. City of Birmingham
  • Greer v. Warden
vlex.com ↗
The file →
  • Alabama supervising attorney was one of three lawyers sanctioned over a motion with fake citations.
  • ChatGPT produced citations that were copied into the motion without verification.
  • The court publicly reprimanded and disqualified all three attorneys and referred them to the State Bar.
  • Federal court in Alabama.
  • Page says the judge called the conduct “recklessness in the extreme” and required review of 52 federal cases.

Showing 131–140 of 858.

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