The New Mexico Supreme Court fined attorney Steven Aarons $5,000 on September 9 for filing appeal materials that included fake testimony generated by ChatGPT. The court's decision specifically calls out the use of AI-generated content in legal filings.

What happened

According to the court, Steven Aarons submitted appellate documents containing testimony that never actually existed in the case—ChatGPT had made it up. For relying on this fabricated AI content, Aarons was hit with a $5,000 penalty.

Case background

Aarons was representing Oscar Rene Sandoval. In February 2025, Sandoval was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Shirin Al-Jibouri, plus an additional four and a half years for assaulting a witness with a weapon.

Why it matters

This case highlights the risks of using generative AI in legal work without independently verifying the content and sources. The court's ruling shows that attorneys are personally responsible for the accuracy of what they file, no matter what tools they use.