A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw |
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REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration |
What’s the price for filing briefs with phony case citations and other AI errors? As more and more AI “hallucinations” end up in legal documents, some judges are turning to creative alternatives for imposing punishments. Here’s what to know: |
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In Nevada, District Judge David Hardy gave defense attorneys from Cozen O'Connor two choices after they submitted a court filing that included fictitious case citations generated by AI. They can either pay $2,500 apiece in sanctions and face removal from the case and referral to the state bar or they could resolve the issue by writing to their former law school deans and bar officials explaining what happened and volunteering to speak on topics like AI and professional conduct. Read the order.
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Hardy isn't the first judge to try unconventional approaches. In at least two cases, courts have required lawyers to alert judges whom they falsely cited as authors of non-existent cases. Read about how U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel and U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco sanctioned lawyers over AI-generated citations.
- Professional conduct rules don't bar lawyers from using AI, but attorneys in every state can be disciplined for failing to vet court submissions.
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Lawyers aren’t the only ones experimenting with the use of AI in the profession. Last year 11th Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom used a concurring opinion in an insurance dispute to lay out what he called an "unthinkable" proposal: That courts begin using AI programs to help interpret words and phrases in legal texts. More on that here.
- But judges, too, have stumbled, with parties pointing out factual inaccuracies in rulings that relied on the technology. Learn more about that here.
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The 3rd Circuit will hear a constitutional challenge to a residency requirement in New Jersey's medical aid-in-dying law, which allows terminally ill people in the state to seek a prescription from a doctor to aid in ending their lives. The advocacy group Compassion & Choices in a lawsuit filed on behalf of two terminally ill people and two physicians argue the law’s residency requirement violates the U.S. Constitution.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the nominations of five more of President Trump’s judicial picks, including 7th Circuit nominee Rebecca Taibleson.
- FBI Director Kash Patel is expected to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. He appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
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Fired U.S. CDC Director Susan Monarez, who was ousted after resisting changes to vaccine policy that were advanced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and that she believed contradicted scientific evidence, will testify to U.S. Congress today.
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The SEC will hold an open meeting to vote on whether to extend for a second time the compliance deadline for Biden-era regulations requiring enhanced disclosures on systemic risk from private funds and investment advisers.
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Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes. |
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"Do we understand what the difference is between a king and a president?"
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