An Australian lawyer has apologised to a judge after submitting court documents in a murder case containing fabricated quotes and nonexistent case judgments generated by AI. The incident occurred in the Supreme Court of Victoria, causing a one-day delay in the case. The defence lawyer, a King's Counsel, took full responsibility for the error.
The AI-generated content included fake quotes from a state legislature speech and nonexistent Supreme Court case citations. The errors were discovered when the judge's associates couldn't verify the cases and requested copies from the defence. The lawyer admitted the citations were fabricated and that the submission contained fictitious quotes.
The judge stated that the court had released guidelines last year regarding the use of AI by lawyers, emphasising that AI-generated content must be independently verified. The client was found not guilty of murder due to mental impairment.
