# Lawyer Cites ChatGPT-Invented Fake Witnesses in Murder Appeal

DevFeed: [Lawyer Cites ChatGPT-Invented Fake Witnesses in Murder Appeal](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/lawyer-cites-chatgpt-invented-fake-witnesses-in-murder-appeal-62972.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.404media.co/chatgpt-fake-witnesses-testimony-stephen-aarons-new-mexico/>)

Author: Samantha Cole

Published: 2026-09-30T18:15:31Z

Content type: news

Language: en

Sources: [404 Media](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/404-media.md>)

Topics: [ChatGPT](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/chatgpt.md>), [knowledge cutoff](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/knowledge-cutoff.md>)

Tags: [ai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai.md>), [ai-hallucinations](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai-hallucinations.md>), [chatgpt](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/chatgpt.md>), [hallucinations](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/hallucinations.md>)

## AI overview

A New Mexico lawyer used ChatGPT to generate legal briefs containing fabricated witnesses and testimony in a murder appeal. The state supreme court found him in direct contempt, removed him from the case, barred him from appearing before the court pending disciplinary review, and sanctioned him $5,000. The article places the case among recurring examples of professionals submitting unverified AI-generated material.

## Source excerpt

"Do you watch the news? Do you listen to the radio? Do you read anything about what's going on in the world?" one of the judges asked the lawyer, who submitted false testimony and witnesses after using ChatGPT.