Florida Court Refers Lawyer For Fabricated Citations
Florida's Second District Court of Appeal in Russell v. Mells decided yesterday that Attorney McLane filed an appellate brief containing three case citations that were fabricated or misquoted, one the panel said was likely hallucinated by generative AI. The judges, led by Chief Judge Matthew Lucas, referred the lawyer to the Florida Bar and warned attorneys must personally verify AI-generated research. The ruling underscores lawyers' ethical duties of competence and candor.
Key Points
- 1Identifies three fabricated or misquoted case citations, one likely produced by generative AI
- 2Warns that AI-generated hallucinations threaten legal integrity and violate duties of competence and candor
- 3Requires attorneys to personally verify citations and faces Florida Bar referral for failures to vet AI
Scoring Rationale
Official appellate ruling confronting AI hallucinations and Bar referral establishes strong precedent, directly impacting attorney practice and citation verification.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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