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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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251
Incidents tracked
81
Incidents in 2026
$1,813,310
In fines, where reported
186 of 251 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 139 of 251 incidents; the rest are undated or fall outside this window.

Blamed by name

ChatGPT 53 Claude 4 Lexis+ AI 4 Westlaw Precision 4 CoCounsel 3 Copilot 2 AI-assisted legal software 1 Archie 1 ChatOn 1 ClearBrief 1 CoCounsel, Westlaw Precision, Google Gem 1 Descrybe.ai 1 First Drafts 1 Gemini 1 Ghostwriter Legal 1 Google AI 1 Google Scholar 1 Grok 1 Irys 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

Showing 41–50 of 251 incidents. Clear filters

Fined
A self-represented defendant filed submissions with AI-generated non-existent cases, and the court allowed correction but ordered costs.
Halton (Regional Municipality) v. Rewa et al. · Mr. Rewa · Ontario Superior Court
“one also does not need to be a lawyer to read through a case to verify if it stands for the suggested proposition.”
torkin.com ↗
The file →
  • Halton (Regional Municipality) v. Rewa et al. involved Mr. Rewa, a self-represented defendant.
  • He relied on AI-generated, non-existent cases in his court submissions.
  • The court allowed him to correct his motion but ordered costs.
  • The court was the Ontario Superior Court in Ontario.
  • The article says the judge warned AI-hallucinated case law would not be tolerated and quoted the court on verifying authorities.
Fined $10K ChatGPT
A California attorney was fined for filing a state court appeal with fake quotations generated by ChatGPT.
California attorney sanctioned for fake quotations generated by ChatGPT · CA
cybernews.com ↗
The file →
  • A California attorney was sanctioned for an AI-generated filing.
  • The attorney used fake quotations generated by ChatGPT in a state court appeal.
  • The court imposed a $10,000 fine.
  • The matter was in California state court.
  • The page says the fine was issued in September and calls it historic.
Fined
A New York Commercial Division decision in Ader imposed fees after lawyers failed to proofread AI-assisted filings containing fabricated cases or misquoted authorities.
Ader · New York Commercial Division · NY
insidetechlaw.com ↗
The file →
  • Ader was a New York Commercial Division incident mentioned by the page.
  • Lawyers submitted AI-assisted filings with fabricated cases or misquoted legal authorities.
  • The court imposed fees.
  • The court was the New York Commercial Division in New York.
  • The page says recent decisions imposed fees after lawyers failed to proofread AI-assisted filings.
Fined
A junior barrister filed a judicial review pleading with five nonexistent authorities, and the court ordered wasted costs and referred the matter to regulators.
Ayinde litigation and a junior barrister · High Court
“the submission of fabricated authorities as “appalling professional misbehaviour””
windowsforum.com ↗
The file →
  • Ayinde litigation and a junior barrister were sanctioned.
  • A pleading in judicial review cited five authorities that did not exist.
  • The court ordered wasted costs and referred the lawyers to regulators.
  • High Court, England and Wales.
  • 2025; the court said the conduct could reflect deliberate fabrication or unverified AI use.
Fined $20K
Attorney Greta Kemp Martin filed legal memoranda with fabricated case citations and nonexistent quotes, and the court sanctioned her over $20,000 and ordered AI-hallucination CLE.
Greta Kemp Martin sanctions order · Greta Kemp Martin · US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi · MS
“"highly suspcious"”
news.bloomberglaw.com ↗
The file →
  • Greta Kemp Martin was sanctioned.
  • She submitted legal memoranda with fabricated case citations and nonexistent quotes.
  • The court imposed over $20,000 in sanctions and ordered CLE on AI hallucinations.
  • The sanction came from the US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.
  • Judge Sharion Aycock said she was "highly suspcious" that an AI tool generated the made-up authorities.
Fined $500 ChatGPT
Michael Chambers filed a motion containing ChatGPT-generated fake case citations, and the court sanctioned him for the AI-made fabrications.
Arthur v. City of Hartford · Michael Chambers · U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut · CT

Cases that don't exist

  • Mati v. City of Hartford
  • Smith v. City of Hartford
  • Johnson v. City of Hartford
nytimes.com ↗
The file →
  • Arthur v. City of Hartford; Michael Chambers was sanctioned.
  • He filed a motion with ChatGPT-generated fake legal citations.
  • The court imposed a $500 monetary fine.
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.
  • The page says the fake cases came from ChatGPT.
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