Lawyer Cites ChatGPT-Invented Fake Witnesses in Murder Appeal

New Mexico lawyer Stephen Aarons has been found in direct contempt of court after filing appeal briefs in a murder case that cited testimony from witnesses invented by ChatGPT. Judges scolded him at a hearing, threw him off the case, referred him to the Disciplinary Board, barred him from appearing before the court, and fined him $5,000. Aarons blamed his own 'stupidity' and said he had not told his imprisoned client directly about the problem. The article links the case to a wider pattern of lawyers submitting AI-hallucinated material to courts.