Overview
- A federal judge in the Northern District of Mississippi canceled the scheduled trial in Withers v. Aberdeen after finding that filings from both sides relied on fabricated case citations produced by generative AI.
- Judge Sharion Aycock removed all four lawyers from the case, issued monetary fines, disqualified local counsel, and barred the two out‑of‑state attorneys from appearing in the district for two years.
- The two out‑of‑state lawyers admitted using AI tools to research or draft briefs and conceded they did not verify the authorities the AI supplied, conduct the judge said supported a finding of bad faith.
- The court grounded its sanctions in Rule 11, its inherent powers and local rules, fined the lawyers a combined $8,000, gave the parties time to obtain new counsel, and referred the matter to state bar disciplinary authorities.
- The decision joins recent federal orders that increase scrutiny of AI use in legal work by emphasizing that attorneys and local counsel share a duty to verify authorities and may face suspension, pro hac vice revocation, disclosure rules, or discipline for failures to do so.