Dallas Judge Sanctions Attorney for Fake AI Citations

T.D. Jakes secured a authorized win in Dallas after a federal decide sanctioned lawyer Tyrone Blackburn for submitting courtroom paperwork stuffed with pretend authorized citations generated by synthetic intelligence.

The ruling got here in a defamation case Jakes filed towards Duane Youngblood, who had accused the bishop of sexual misconduct courting again to the Eighties. Jakes denied the claims and mentioned Youngblood tried to extort him for $6 million earlier than going public. The courtroom discovered Blackburn’s conduct throughout litigation to be unacceptable.

AI-Generated Briefs Triggered Court Penalty

Blackburn, who represented Youngblood, filed authorized briefs that included made-up case legislation and misquoted rulings. The courtroom mentioned the filings weren’t solely inaccurate but additionally deceptive.

“Blackburn doubled-down. His reply brief contained the same problems as his initial brief. Rather than take responsibility for his misconduct, apologize, and voluntarily withdraw his brief, Blackburn pointed the finger at Plaintiff’s counsel, wrongly accusing them of doing exactly what he did twice—using AI to craft an inaccurate brief,” the decide wrote.

Blackburn admitted to utilizing generative AI to draft the filings and apologized, saying he didn’t totally perceive the expertise. The courtroom rejected that clarification.

“The Court holds that Blackburn engaged in sanctionable conduct under Rule 11. At best, he knowingly and repeatedly submitted legal documents that he neither prepared nor reviewed to ensure their accuracy… It is inexcusable to skirt this duty by relying on AI to draft a brief. Blackburn did so and, when accused, did so again.”

Judge Imposes $5K Fine and Revokes Court Privileges

Jakes’ authorized workforce requested the courtroom to award over $76,000 in lawyer charges, however the decide as a substitute fined Blackburn $5,000, emphasizing deterrence over compensation.

“The main purpose of Rule 11 is to deter, not to compensate. Indeed, district courts should consider a wide range of alternative possible sanctions for violation of the rule.”

The courtroom ordered Blackburn to pay the tremendous in installments and revoked his professional hac vice standing, which allowed him to apply within the district quickly. Any future requests to look in courtroom should embrace the sanction order.

“Due to his misconduct and violations of court rules, Blackburn’s pro hac vice status is REVOKED… Any future… motion to appear pro hac vice filed by Blackburn… must include a copy of this order.”

Blackburn Also Under Fire in Fat Joe Lawsuit

This isn’t Blackburn’s solely authorized hassle. He’s additionally representing Terrance Dixon in a $20 million lawsuit towards Fat Joe, alleging underpayment and coercion into “thousands of sex acts.”

Fat Joe’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, criticized Blackburn’s filings in that case as nicely, calling them “bogus” and citing the identical points with AI-generated content material.

Tacopina mentioned Blackburn’s actions present a “flagrant disregard of his duties,” referencing each the Jakes and Fat Joe lawsuits.

The ruling towards Blackburn was issued in late June, marking a uncommon occasion of a federal courtroom penalizing a lawyer for misusing synthetic intelligence in official courtroom filings.

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