The New Mexico Supreme Court held a defense lawyer in direct contempt for filing an AI-assisted brief containing fabricated testimony and other misrepresentations. Attorney Stephen Aarons admitted that he had not verified factual claims and legal authority before filing the brief. The brief quoted testimony from witnesses who did not exist in the trial record. Lawyers remain responsible for accuracy and confidentiality when they use automated drafting or research tools.
It also misstated testimony from real witnesses and described legal precedents inaccurately. Aarons said he uploaded a computer-generated trial transcript and related documents to ChatGPT. Hallucination can take the form of invented authorities, altered quotations or false summaries of supplied material. A court sanction addresses conduct in one case and does not establish the error rate of a product in other settings.
The court barred him from appearing before it while disciplinary proceedings are pending. It imposed a $5,000 payment to the state bar’s client-protection fund. Replacing counsel protects the continuation of the appeal but cannot eliminate delay already caused.
The court struck the earlier briefs and ordered appointment of a new lawyer for the defendant. The appeal will continue during the court’s 2026-27 term. Professional discipline is separate from the contempt finding and may produce additional consequences. The disciplinary board had not completed its separate review, and the underlying criminal appeal remained unresolved.
The errors affected both facts and legal authority, showing that review cannot be limited to citation formatting. Verification would require checking quotations against the trial transcript, confirming that each witness appeared, and reading every cited case for the proposition claimed. The court’s response restored the appeal to a new lawyer but also preserved a record of how unchecked output entered a consequential filing.
What to watch: The disciplinary board’s findings and any additional sanction. Court or bar guidance requiring disclosure and verification of AI-assisted filings.