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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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857
Incidents tracked
266
Incidents in 2026
$2,397,608
In fines, where reported
212 of 857 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 452 of 857 incidents; the rest are undated or fall outside this window.

Blamed by name

ChatGPT 147 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 249 Caught, not sanctioned 198 Warned 124 Referred to the bar 101 Reprimanded 86 Outcome unclear 57 Filing dismissed 39 Suspension 2 Upcoming sanction 1
Caught, not sanctioned
Similar AI-citation misconduct occurred, but the court declined sanctions because the disciplinary commission was already reviewing the misconduct and the attorney was surrendering his law license.
In re R.L. · IL
ripslawlibrarian.wordpress.com ↗
The file →
  • In re R.L. is the final Illinois appellate case discussed.
  • The attorney’s filing contained similar fabricated or misrepresented citations.
  • The court declined sanctions while the disciplinary commission reviewed the conduct.
  • Illinois court; no judge is named on the page.
  • The attorney was surrendering his law license.
Caught, not sanctioned
Reeves filed AI-generated or unverified citations and faced discipline over the misuse.
STATE OF OKLAHOMA ex rel. OBA v. REEVES · Reeves · OK
“The careless use of generative artificial intelligence to "save time" by not independently confirming citations is instead a waste of judicial resources and ...”
law.justia.com ↗
The file →
  • STATE OF OKLAHOMA ex rel. OBA v. REEVES.
  • Reeves was disciplined over AI-generated or unverified citations.
  • No monetary sanction is stated in the provided text.
  • An Oklahoma state proceeding.
  • The page says generative AI was used to "save time" without independently confirming citations.
Fined $6K
A Mississippi federal judge disqualified the attorneys and fined Wilson $2,500 and Williams $3,500 after both sides misused AI.
Wilson and Williams matter · Wilson; Williams · federal court in Mississippi · MS
reuters.com ↗
The file →
  • Wilson and Williams matter; Wilson and Williams were sanctioned
  • Both sides misused AI in the lawsuit and the judge disqualified the attorneys
  • Wilson was fined $2,500 and Williams was fined $3,500, totaling $6,000
  • Federal court in Mississippi
  • Date not stated; the article says they were each ordered to pay $1,000
Filing dismissed $4K
The plaintiff’s attorney filed a response brief with fabricated quotes and a nonexistent decision, and the court dismissed the case without prejudice and referred counsel for discipline.
Alexey Dubinin v. Varsenik Papazian · U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida · FL
damiencharlotin.com ↗
The file →
  • Alexey Dubinin v. Varsenik Papazian involved a lawyer.
  • The filing included fabricated citations and false quotes.
  • The court imposed a costs order of $4,030 and made a bar referral.
  • The court was S.D. Florida, in federal court.
  • Date: 2025-11-21; the AI tool was not identified.
Outcome unclear
The article only says the recent federal decision in Johnson v. involved fabricated or hallucinated citations, but it gives no named lawyer, firm, or sanction details.
Johnson v.
jdsupra.com ↗
The file →
  • The article mentions Johnson v. as a recent federal decision.
  • It discusses fabricated or hallucinated citations in briefs.
  • No lawyer, firm, or judge is named on the page.
  • No sanction, amount, or order date is provided.
  • No AI tool or quoted judicial language appears in the excerpt.
Caught, not sanctioned ChatGPT
A Denver attorney accepted a 90-day suspension after an investigation found he used ChatGPT to help draft a motion containing fabrications.
Unnamed Colorado disciplinary case · Denver attorney · Colorado Supreme Court · CO
“like an idiot”
cronkitenews.azpbs.org ↗
The file →
  • Unnamed Colorado disciplinary case; a Denver attorney was sanctioned.
  • The attorney denied using AI, but the investigation found ChatGPT helped draft a motion with fabrications.
  • He received a 90-day suspension.
  • Colorado Supreme Court; Colorado.
  • The article gives no date beyond saying the case was recent; it quotes the attorney saying he hadn’t checked the work.
Caught, not sanctioned ChatGPT
Takefman cited the nonexistent case Hernandez v. Gilbert in two filings, but the court accepted his apology and did not sanction him.
Takefman matter · Earl Takefman · court not named on page · FL

Cases that don't exist

  • Hernandez v. Gilbert
nbcnews.com ↗
The file →
  • Earl Takefman was the pro se litigant in a Florida matter.
  • He used ChatGPT and cited the imaginary case Hernandez v. Gilbert in two filings.
  • The court forced him to explain why he should not be sanctioned, then imposed none.
  • Florida; court not named on the page; state jurisdiction.
  • The page says the judge admonished him and later accepted his apology.
Fined $10K ChatGPT
An attorney filed a state court appeal with 21 of 23 quoted citations hallucinated by ChatGPT and was fined $10,000.
In re: OpenAI, Inc. ChatGPT Litigation · California Court of Appeal · CA
““as a warning””
404media.co ↗
The file →
  • An unnamed attorney in California was fined.
  • The attorney filed a state court appeal with 21 of 23 quotes hallucinated by ChatGPT.
  • The court imposed a $10,000 fine.
  • California court; state jurisdiction; location not further specified on the page.
  • The article calls it possibly the largest-ever fine over AI fabrications.

Showing 361–370 of 857.

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