Kansas Judge Sanctions Lawyers for Using ChatGPT in Legal Filings
Judge Julie A. Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas has issued a public admonition and financial sanctions against four lawyers involved in a patent infringement case. The lawyers were penalized for using ChatGPT to generate caselaw citations in their legal filings, which resulted in numerous errors, including nonexistent quotations and incorrect citations. The court's 36-page order highlighted the responsibility of all attorneys involved, emphasizing the non-delegable duty under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to verify the accuracy of legal documents. The primary lawyer, who admitted to using ChatGPT due to personal stress, was fined $5,000 and had his pro hac vice admission revoked. His partners, who signed the filings without verifying the content, were each fined $3,000. The local counsel, who also failed to check the citations, was fined $1,000. 
