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3h ago

Judge Says DOJ Cited a Nonexistent Case Likely Generated by AI

The ruling rebuked Justice Department lawyers for failing to verify the citation and warned that sanctions remain a possibility.

Washington, DC - January 23 : President Donald J Trump speaks with reporters and signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday, Jan 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Overview

  • Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou issued an order Thursday finding a May DOJ brief cited “Taylor v. Hott, 724 F. App’x 387, 392 (6th Cir. 2018),” a case the court could not locate and called likely produced by generative AI.
  • The court found that the page number cited actually contains Atkins v. CGI Techs. & Sols., a commercial-arbitration opinion, not any immigration authority the DOJ claimed.
  • Court records show every government filing in the matter was submitted under the name Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general who is awaiting Senate confirmation.
  • The dispute involved ICE detainee Izzeddin Daghra, whose $35,000 bond was held for the 90-day automatic stay while the government appealed and who was allowed to post bond after the stay expired.
  • Judges across the country have flagged more than 1,000 AI-generated or fabricated citations since 2023, and the order stressed lawyers must closely review AI work or face possible sanctions and erosion of trust in filings.