Expert: Justice Benjamin Land, Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia AI legal drafting tools have no way to verify that the cases they cite are real — and in this case, they weren’t. In the appeal of Hannah Payne’s murder conviction, Clayton County Assistant District Attorney Deborah Leslie used an AI tool to draft the State’s brief and a proposed order denying a new trial. The Georgia Supreme Court found the filings included at least five citations to cases that do not exist, and at least five more that did not support the proposition for which they were cited. The fabricated citations were adopted into the lower court’s order denying Payne a new trial. The Supreme Court vacated that order, sent the case back for reconsideration, and suspended Leslie from practicing before the court for six months, requiring her to complete additional continuing education before returning. Writing for the court, Justice Benjamin Land warned every Georgia lawyer: “Citing cases that do not exist or do not support the proposition for which they are cited is a violation of this Court’s rules and falls far beneath the conduct we expect from Georgia lawyers.” District Attorney Tasha Mosley apologized to the court and said the office is expanding its policies on AI use. The lesson: AI-generated legal citations can look flawless and be completely fabricated. Every citation must be independently verified before it is filed. Source: https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/clayton-prosecutor-punished-using-ai-court-filings-citing-fake-cases