2026-09-12 / Signal #3
ChatGPT invented police and witnesses for a murder appeal
“The appeal named officers who were never at the scene. ChatGPT put them there.”
The Story
Santa Fe lawyer Stephen Aarons fed a murder-trial transcript into ChatGPT, then filed an appeal brief with “false testimony from wholly fabricated witnesses,” including fake police and invented details about the shooter’s clothes. New Mexico’s Supreme Court held him in contempt, fined him $5,000, barred him from the court pending discipline, and reassigned the life-sentence appeal. A justice asked: “Counsel, do you watch the news?
Why It Matters
Past lawyer-AI stories were fake *citations*. This is fake *people* walking into a murder record. The court of last resort now has to treat “the model made a cop” as a practice problem.
Evidence
Reuters (11 Sep); Ars Technica; The Verge; New Mexico Supreme Court order re: Stephen Aarons / Oscar Renee Sandoval.
Sources
Daily scan: 2026-09-12