A federal judge in Colorado has fined attorneys Christopher Kachouroff and Jennifer DeMaster $3,000 each for using artificial intelligence to prepare a court filing in a defamation case involving MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. The filing contained nearly 30 defective citations, including references to nonexistent cases and misquotations of case law.
The judge, Nina Y. Wang, expressed frustration with the attorneys' contradictory statements and lack of corroborating evidence, which led her to believe that the filing was not an inadvertent error. Kachouroff initially claimed the motion was a draft and was filed by accident, but the "final" version still contained substantive errors.
Lindell was found liable for defamation for spreading false claims about the 2020 presidential election. Kachouroff admitted to using generative AI to write the motion, which contained errors and fictitious cases. The judge sanctioned the attorneys, stating that their explanations were "troubling and not well-taken".
The fines serve as a warning to attorneys to exercise diligence and responsibility when using AI in legal practice. This incident highlights the importance of human oversight in AI-generated content, particularly in legal proceedings where accuracy is paramount. The judge's ruling emphasizes the need for attorneys to verify AI-generated content to maintain the integrity of the judicial process.
