Lawyer’s AI Hears 'Make Up Stuff' and Runs with It, Gets $5K Fine
KEY POINTS
- •Stephen Aarons, a New Mexico lawyer, submitted an AI-written appeal filled with fake witnesses and false testimonies.
- •The state's Supreme Court fined Aarons $5,000 and cited him for contempt on September 11, 2026, for ignoring AI verification risks.
- •Justice C. Shannon Bacon questioned Aarons during an August hearing about his failure to fact-check the AI's fabrications.
Stephen Aarons, a New Mexico lawyer apparently training his AI assistant on fiction novels instead of legal precedents, got slapped with a $5,000 fine and contempt charges last Wednesday. His crime? Submitting an appeal packed with phony testimonies, including fully fabricated witnesses and implausible details about the murderer’s clothing and appearance. Justice C. Shannon Bacon wasn’t impressed during the August hearing, wondering how Aarons missed the glaring AI “just making it all up” warning signs. The Supreme Court frowned on Aarons’ failure to fact-check the AI-generated brief, which is legal-speak for handing in a homework assignment done by a mischievous chatbot drunk on creativity.
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(1 of 3)When your AI lawyer thinks fake witnesses and fiction are viable legal strategies, expect a $5k fine and a contempt flair-up. We’re all terrible drivers of our own lives, but Aarons let a bot steer his appeal straight into the ditch.
If your AI starts inventing witnesses and police testimony, maybe don’t submit it to the Supreme Court. Just a thought.
Five grand to the New Mexico Supreme Court for letting your AI turn a murder appeal into a sci-fi fanfic.
Source: Theverge | Published: 9/11/2026 | Author: Emma Roth
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