Ninth Circuit on AI Hallucinations
The Ninth Circuit disciplined attorneys for using generative AI to fabricate citations and misattribute quotations, suspending them for six months.Summary
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a disciplinary order against attorneys Mike Singh Sethi and William Rounds for submitting court briefs containing fabricated citations and misattributed quotations. The court determined that these errors were the result of overreliance on generative AI, which produced "hallucinations"—specifically fabrications (nonexistent cases) and inaccuracies (misrepresentations of real cases). The court emphasized that inaccuracies are particularly dangerous as they may go unnoticed. Sethi and Rounds initially denied using AI, but later conceded it was possible. The court imposed a six-month suspension from practice before the Ninth Circuit, ordered them to disclose AI usage in future filings under penalty of perjury, and mandated that they inform all clients and opposing counsel of the disciplinary action.
(Source：Reason Magazine)