Extract from Avalon Zoppo’s article “‘No End in Sight’: 5th Circuit Expresses Concern Over AI Hallucinations in Briefs”
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit panel on Wednesday expressed dismay over lawyers submitting briefs that include citations and quotes hallucinated by artificial intelligence tools, lamenting that the growing problem “has no end in sight.”
The three-judge panel’s concerns came in a sanctions order against an attorney who, the judges concluded, used AI in writing a reply brief that had fabricated quotes attributed to real cases.
The Fifth Circuit ordered Heather Hersh of FCRA Attorneys to pay $2,500, saying she failed to check her brief for accuracy and was not forthcoming when the court pressed for an explanation for the mistakes.
