Suspended lawyer accused of citing hallucinated case in bid to reinstate law license; ABA Journal, September 12, 2025

DEBRA CASSENS WEISS , ABA Journal; Suspended lawyer accused of citing hallucinated case in bid to reinstate law license

"A suspended Iowa lawyer cited at least one hallucinated case likely generated by artificial intelligence in his bid to return to law practice, according to a motion filed by the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board.

Court filings by suspended Des Moines lawyer Royce David Turner include “what appears to be at least one AI-generated citation to a case that does not exist or does not stand for the proposition asserted in the filings,” the board says in a July 9 motion. Turner cited the “imaginary case” In re Mears in a July 5 brief supporting his application for reinstatement and in two other court filings, according to motion to strike the three filings."

AI 'hallucinations' in court papers spell trouble for lawyers; Reuters, February 18, 2025

Sara Merken, Reuters ; AI 'hallucinations' in court papers spell trouble for lawyers

"U.S. personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan sent an urgent email this month to its more than 1,000 lawyers: Artificial intelligence can invent fake case law, and using made-up information in a court filing could get you fired.

A federal judge in Wyoming had just threatened to sanction two lawyers at the firm who included fictitious case citations in a lawsuit against Walmart. One of the lawyers admitted in court filings last week that he used an AI program that "hallucinated" the cases and apologized for what he called an inadvertent mistake."