judicial-integrity

What changed

Boies Schiller Flexner filed a respondents' brief in Bixler v. Church of Scientology International that was reportedly prepared with AI assistance and allegedly contained material citation errors. Opposing counsel reportedly identified mischaracterized and mistitled authorities, including one nonexistent case. Partner John Kucera accepted responsibility for failing to verify the citations and sought to replace the brief; the court denied that request and later considered mon…

Timeline

1. 25 June 2026Reportedly AI-Assisted Boies Schiller Brief in Bixler v. Church of Scientology Allegedly Contained Material Citation Errors and a Nonexistent Case
   Incident78%

   • Citation errors and hallucinated case turn up in Boies Schiller brief in 'artificial-intelligence debacle'https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/boies-schiller-partner-takes-responsibility-for-brief-with-hallucinated-cases
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1555https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1555/

   Citation errors and hallucinated case turn up in Boies Schiller brief in 'artificial-intelligence debacle'AI Incident Database - Incident 1555
2. 24 June 2026Sixth Circuit Sanctioned Lawyers in Whiting v. City of Athens over Alleged Fake Appellate Citations in Briefs Reportedly Bearing Hallmarks of Hallucinations
   Incident82%

   • US appeals court fines lawyers $30,000 in latest AI-related sanctionhttps://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-appeals-court-fines-lawyers-30000-latest-ai-related-sanction-2026-03-16/
   • Sixth Circuit Sanctions Attorneys for Fake Citations – What Does This Mean for Use of AI?https://natlawreview.com/article/sixth-circuit-sanctions-attorneys-fake-citations-what-does-mean-use-ai
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1447https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1447/

   US appeals court fines lawyers $30,000 in latest AI-related sanctionSixth Circuit Sanctions Attorneys for Fake Citations – What Does This Mean for Use of AI?AI Incident Database - Incident 1447
3. 24 June 2026Attorney in Fletcher v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Reportedly Submitted Reply Brief with Purportedly AI-Generated Material Misrepresentations
   Incident82%

   • US appeals court orders lawyer to pay $2,500 over AI hallucinations in briefhttps://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-appeals-court-orders-lawyer-pay-2500-over-ai-hallucinations-brief-2026-02-18/
   • Fifth Circuit Sanctions Lawyer for AI-Generated Briefhttps://lalegalethics.org/fifth-circuit-sanctions-lawyer-for-ai-generated-brief/
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1453https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1453/

   US appeals court orders lawyer to pay $2,500 over AI hallucinations in briefFifth Circuit Sanctions Lawyer for AI-Generated BriefAI Incident Database - Incident 1453
4. 16 June 2026Four Lawyers Reportedly Sanctioned After Purportedly AI-Related Hallucinated Citations Appeared in Withers v. City of Aberdeen
   Incident78%

   • Judge Punishes 4 Lawyers After Catching Both Sides Using A.I. in Lawsuithttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/us/ai-lawyers-sanctioned-mississippi.html
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1533https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1533/

   Judge Punishes 4 Lawyers After Catching Both Sides Using A.I. in LawsuitAI Incident Database - Incident 1533
5. 22 May 2026Hidden Prompt Injection in Brazilian Labor-Court Petition Reportedly Tried to Manipulate Galileu
   Incident78%

   • Galileu: Sistema identifica tentativa de manipulação em petição e alerta magistradohttps://www.trt4.jus.br/portais/trt4/modulos/noticias/50981781
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1497https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1497/

   Galileu: Sistema identifica tentativa de manipulação em petição e alerta magistradoAI Incident Database - Incident 1497
6. 22 May 2026Claude Console Reportedly Generated Phantom Legal Quotations in Trump Layoffs Court Filing
   Incident82%

   • Lawyer apologizes for 'phantom' AI quotes in Trump layoffs casehttps://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/lawyer-apologizes-phantom-ai-quotes-trump-layoffs-case-2026-05-18/
   • Notice of Declarations from Third-Party Joseph Guy's Counsel – Case Nos. 3:25-cv-3698-SI and 3:26-mc-80146-SIhttps://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/myvmylgokvr/Binnall%20AI%20apology.pdf
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1499https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1499/

   Lawyer apologizes for 'phantom' AI quotes in Trump layoffs caseNotice of Declarations from Third-Party Joseph Guy's Counsel – Case Nos. 3:25-cv-3698-SI and 3:26-mc-80146-SIAI Incident Database - Incident 1499
7. 4 Apr 2026Purported Facial Recognition Error Reportedly Led to Arrest and Monthslong Jailing of Tennessee Woman in North Dakota Fraud Case
   Incident82%

   • Tennessee grandmother jailed after AI facial recognition error links her to fraudhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/12/tennessee-grandmother-ai-fraud
   • Grandmother says she was wrongfully put in jail for a crime due to a facial recognition errorhttps://www.wabi.tv/2026/03/15/grandmother-says-she-was-wrongfully-put-jail-crime-due-facial-recognition-error/
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1416https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1416/

   Tennessee grandmother jailed after AI facial recognition error links her to fraudGrandmother says she was wrongfully put in jail for a crime due to a facial recognition errorAI Incident Database - Incident 1416
8. 28 Mar 2026DOJ Attorney Reportedly Used AI to File Brief With Purportedly Fabricated Quotes and Misstated Case Holdings
   Incident82%

   • DOJ leaders must explain why attorney used fabricated quotes in court filinghttps://www.abajournal.com/news/article/doj-leaders-must-explain-why-attorney-used-fabricated-quotes-in-court-filing
   • DOJ Attorney Used Fabricated Quotes in Court Filing (3)https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/federal-prosecutor-used-fabricated-quotes-false-cites-in-filing
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1434https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1434/

   DOJ leaders must explain why attorney used fabricated quotes in court filingDOJ Attorney Used Fabricated Quotes in Court Filing (3)AI Incident Database - Incident 1434
9. 12 Dec 2025Bodycam Footage Reportedly Contradicted Purportedly ChatGPT-Generated Use-of-Force Narrative by Immigration Agent
   Incident78%

   • Bodycam footage from Operation Midway Blitz released: ‘It’s all about arresting people’https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/28/bodycam-footage-from-operation-midway-blitz-released/
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1299https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1299/

   Bodycam footage from Operation Midway Blitz released: ‘It’s all about arresting people’AI Incident Database - Incident 1299
10. 6 Dec 2025Argentine Court Reportedly Annuls Criminal Conviction After Judge Allegedly Used ChatGPT to Draft Ruling Without Disclosure
    Incident82%

    • Justicia anulada: se invalidó un fallo por el uso indebido de la IAhttps://documento.errepar.com/actualidad/justicia-anulada-se-invalida-un-fallo-por-el-uso-indebido-de-la-ia-20251016143159365
    • El juez de Esquel que usó Chat para redactar una sentencia será investigadohttps://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/el-juez-de-esquel-que-uso-chat-para-redactar-una-sentencia-sera-investigado-nid17102025/
    • AI Incident Database - Incident 1257https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1257/

    Justicia anulada: se invalidó un fallo por el uso indebido de la IAEl juez de Esquel que usó Chat para redactar una sentencia será investigadoAI Incident Database - Incident 1257
11. 29 Oct 2025Judges in New Jersey and Mississippi Admit AI Tools Produced Erroneous Federal Court Filings
    Incident82%

    • Federal judges using AI filed court orders with false quotes, fake nameshttps://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/10/29/federal-judges-ai-court-orders/
    • Judges Admit to Using AI After Made-Up Rulings Called Out (1)https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/judges-called-out-for-nonfactual-rulings-admit-to-use-of-ai
    • AI Incident Database - Incident 1252https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1252/

    Federal judges using AI filed court orders with false quotes, fake namesJudges Admit to Using AI After Made-Up Rulings Called Out (1)AI Incident Database - Incident 1252
12. 3 Sept 2025MyPillow Defense Lawyers in Coomer v. Lindell Reportedly Sanctioned for Filing Court Document Allegedly Containing AI-Generated Legal Citations
    Incident82%

    • Judge Fines Lawyers for MyPillow Founder for Error-Filled Court Filinghttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/us/judge-fines-lawyers-mypillow-ai.html
    • MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's lawyers fined for AI-generated court filinghttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/07/08/mike-lindell-attorneys-fined-artificial-intelligence/84505633007/
    • AI Incident Database - Incident 1145https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1145/

    Judge Fines Lawyers for MyPillow Founder for Error-Filled Court FilingMyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's lawyers fined for AI-generated court filingAI Incident Database - Incident 1145

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