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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.

May 2025 Oct 2026

Charting 447 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
Filing dismissed 2025-10-23
ASBCA struck the contractor’s reply brief and denied leave to revise it after finding more than 70% of its citations were inaccurate due to AI use.
Huffman Construction · Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals
smithlaw.com ↗
The file →
  • Huffman Construction was sanctioned by the ASBCA.
  • Counsel admitted using AI, which led to fictitious case citations and bad record cites.
  • The Board struck the reply brief and denied leave to file a revised brief.
  • Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, federal forum.
  • Oct. 23, 2025; over 70% of the brief’s citations were inaccurate.
Fined $1K ChatGPT 2025-10-23
Counsel filed opposition papers with AI-generated false Louisiana case citations; the trial court sanctioned her and the appellate court affirmed.
In re: Sanctions Order of KENNEY (2025) · Connie P. Trieu · Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit · LA
“Plaintiff's counsel submitted legal authority and citations generated by “A.I.” software without verifying their authenticity.”

Cases that don't exist

  • Burns v. State, 813 So.2d 574
  • Smith v. Christus St. Patrick Hosp., 20-306 (La. App. 3 Cir. 11/3/20), 308 So.3d 1216
  • Doe v. Southwest Louisiana Hosp. Ass'n, 02-180 (La. App. 3 Cir. 7/10/02), 833 So.2d 1136
caselaw.findlaw.com ↗
The file →
  • In re: Sanctions Order of KENNEY (2025) sanctioned Connie P. Trieu.
  • She filed pleadings containing three fabricated Louisiana citations and other citation errors.
  • The trial court ordered $1,368 in attorney's fees plus costs.
  • Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit, in Louisiana.
  • Decided October 23, 2025; the opinion says the citations were generated by AI and notes ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot were used.
Filing dismissed 2025-10-22
Counsel filed a motion for reconsideration using Westlaw's AI feature with nonexistent quoted passages, resulting in a struck motion and $2,000 in fee awards.
Ma v. Cogdell Law Firm PLLC · Travis County District Court · TX
mallick.tech ↗
The file →
  • Ma v. Cogdell Law Firm PLLC involved an attorney using Westlaw's AI research feature.
  • Counsel submitted a reconsideration motion containing fabricated passages attributed to real cases.
  • The court struck the motion, ordered $2,000 in opposing attorney's fees, and mandated an explanatory letter.
  • The ruling occurred in the Travis County District Court in Texas.
  • The order was issued on October 22, 2025, under Texas procedural rules governing bad-faith filings.
Fined $227 2025-10-17
A pro se litigant filed fabricated case law and legal norms, and the tribunal imposed a monetary sanction of 227 GBP.
Chi Keung Lee & others v Blackpool B&B Limited · First-tier Tribunal
damiencharlotin.com ↗
The file →
  • Chi Keung Lee & others v Blackpool B&B Limited involved a pro se litigant.
  • The filing contained fabricated case law and legal norms.
  • The tribunal imposed a monetary sanction of 227 GBP.
  • First-tier Tribunal, UK.
  • 17 October 2025; the page lists a monetary sanction.
Referred to the bar 2025-10-17
A lawyer was referred to the Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner after written submissions cited three fake cases as SAET authorities.
Referral to the LPCC for the citation of fake cases · SAET
“The legal profession should be aware that SAET will not tolerate such conduct, and practitioners can expect similar referrals to the LPCC in similar circumstances.”
saet.sa.gov.au ↗
The file →
  • SAET referred a lawyer to the Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner.
  • Written submissions included three fake cases said to be SAET authorities.
  • The outcome was a referral, with no dollar amount stated.
  • The court was SAET in South Australia.
  • 17 October 2025; Justice Steven Dolphin said such conduct was the first of its kind he knew of.
Caught, not sanctioned 2025-10-15
A self-represented party filed a brief with nonexistent or misstated cases, and the court denied costs because the brief was of no use.
T.B. v. K.M. · Saskatchewan family law division

Cases that don't exist

  • A.M. v. C.H., 2019 SKQB 162
  • Baker v. Baker, 2007 ONCA 329
  • R.C. v. R.C., 2013 NSC 71

+1 more

grllp.com ↗
The file →
  • T.B. v. K.M. involved K.M.'s filed brief with fake or misstated cases.
  • The court found the cited authorities did not exist or were misrepresented.
  • The court refused to award K.M. costs, effectively penalizing the misuse.
  • Saskatchewan family law division, Saskatchewan.
  • October 15, 2025; the judge said K.M. was responsible for ensuring the cases existed.
Fined $6K 2025-10-13
A pro se claimant used AI to generate 46 inaccurate or misleading citations, and the tribunal imposed a costs order of 5881 GBP.
Hassan v ABC International Bank · Employment Tribunals
damiencharlotin.com ↗
The file →
  • Hassan v ABC International Bank involved AI-generated citations.
  • The tribunal found 46 inaccurate or misleading citations, including 9 fictitious ones.
  • It imposed a costs order of 5881 GBP.
  • Employment Tribunals, UK.
  • 13 October 2025; the page says the conduct was reckless and unreasonable.
Fined $5K Ghostwriter Legal 2025-10-10
James A. Johnson filed a motion with fabricated AI-generated citations, and Judge Terry F. Moorer reprimanded him and imposed sanctions.
United States v. McGee · James A. Johnson · US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama · AL
“Somehow the message still has not been hammered home as the epidemic of citing fake cases continues unabated,”
news.bloomberglaw.com ↗
The file →
  • United States v. McGee involved James A. Johnson of Loxley, Ala.
  • He filed a motion in a criminal case containing nonexistent legal citations generated by AI.
  • Judge Terry F. Moorer imposed $5,000 in sanctions and reprimanded him.
  • The court was the US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.
  • On 2025-10-10, Moorer said basic reprimands and small fines were not enough to deter the misconduct.
Fined $1K 2025-10-10
Edward A. Quesada filed a brief with nonexistent and erroneous citations, and Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín imposed sanctions and ordered CLE.
Oneto v. Watson · Edward A. Quesada · US District Court for the Northern District of California · CA
news.bloomberglaw.com ↗
The file →
  • Oneto v. Watson involved Edward A. Quesada of Glendora, Calif.
  • He filed a civil brief containing nonexistent and erroneous case citations.
  • The court imposed a $1,000 sanction and ordered him to take an AI CLE course.
  • The court was the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
  • On 2025-10-10, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín said his conduct violated professional-conduct rules and showed a failure to keep abreast of technology.
Warned 2025-10-10
Defence lawyers filed documents with fake quotes and non-existent case judgments generated by AI, then re-filed them after the errors were found.
Supreme Court of Victoria murder trial · Supreme Court of Victoria · VIC
““It is not acceptable for AI to be used unless the product of that use is independently and thoroughly verified,””
thedailyaus.com.au ↗
The file →
  • Defence lawyers in the Victorian Supreme Court murder case
  • They filed AI-generated documents containing fake quotes and non-existent judgments
  • The court did not impose a monetary sanction; the documents were re-filed after discovery
  • Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia
  • August 2025; Justice James Elliott gave the quoted warning

Showing 681–690 of 857.

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