Alabama lawyers removed from prison lawsuit for allegedly using AI

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A federal judge sanctioned three attorneys for an Huntsville law firm and removed them from a lawsuit Wednesday for their use of ChatGPT-created citations.

According to court documents filed on July 23, Matthew B. Reeves, William J. Cranford and William R. Lunsford were disqualified from further participation in a lawsuit filed by an Alabama prison inmate, Frankie Johnson, who alleges that state prison personnel failed to protect him, and he was attacked and stabbed multiple times on three different occasions.

The attorneys admitted in federal court in May that one of their firm partners used ChatGPT to find case citations to strengthen their arguments – but the citations were made up, apparently invented by the AI tool.

The court publicly reprimanded Reeves, Cranford and Lunsford for their misconduct, removing or disqualifying them from the case.

”Disqualification fits well: lawyers should know that if they make false statements incourt proceedings, they will no longer have the professional opportunity to participate in those proceedings,” U.S. District Court Judge Anna Manasco said in her sanctions order.

”The court further finds that no lesser sanction will serve the necessary deterrent purpose, otherwise rectify this misconduct, or vindicate judicial authority. Mr. Cranford, Mr. Reeves, and Mr. Lunsford are well-trained, experienced attorneyswho work at a large, high-functioning, well-regarded law firm. They benefitted from repeated warnings, internal controls, and firm policies about the dangers of AI misuse. They have regular access to gold-standard legal research databases. They must have known they would be deeply embarrassed in this kind of situation, and that there could be harsh consequences with the court and their law firm. And yet here we are. The reality that this lapse in judgment presented in the most spectacularly unforced fashion underscores the need for more than a fine and reprimand.”
U.S. District Court Judge Anna Manasco

The false ChatGPT citations, used in two separate court filings by the lawyers arguing for the deposition, were caught and pointed out by Johnson’s attorneys. The lawyers for the Huntsville-based law firm Butler Snow have apologized and said they didn’t mean to mislead the court.

The Butler Snow firm does a tremendous amount of business with the State of Alabama on ongoing prison lawsuits — including lawsuits brought by the U.S.  Department of Justice. Butler Snow’s lead attorney in those cases, Lunsford, is listed as having been paid $42 million by the state — since fiscal 2020, according to state records.

In court filings, Lunsford said he didn’t provide the false citations, that was firm partner Reeves, who works with Lunsford on the prison lawsuits. Lunsford said in court filings that the mistake was unacceptable and is being reviewed.

“To begin this declaration, I am personally and professionally sorry for what has occurred,” Lunsford said in an affidavit filed with the federal court.  “These events do not reflect the nature or quality of work that I have worked for decades to ensure that every client receives. I apologize to the Court, to all parties, to opposing counsel and to the State of Alabama for the terrible decisions that led to an erroneous filing. We will ensure that this never occurs again.”

In his affidavit, Reeves said that in reviewing planned court filings by another lawyer in the case, he saw that some of the arguments needed case citations, so he went to ChatGPT, the AI program.

“I knew generally about ChatGPT,” he wrote in the affidavit. “I performed a search to identify supporting case law for the proposition that discovery may proceed even during the pendency of other discovery issues, as to the Motion for Leave, and that general or boilerplate objections are not effective, as to the Motion to Compel.”

He said that search revealed what appeared to be applicable citations for those points of law, and in a hurry to finalize and file the motions, he failed to verify them before including them. He then said he confirmed that some citations used were inaccurate or do not exist.

Reeves, Cranford and Lunsford were ordered to give the Clerk of Court a listing of jurisdictions in which they are licensed to practice law within 24 hours.

Additionally, they were ordered to provide a copy of the order to “their clients, opposing counsel, and presiding judge in every pending state or federal case in which they are counsel of record,” and every attorney in their law firm within 10 days.

Court docs also show that without sanction, attorneys Daniel J. Chism and Lynette E. Potter, and the law firm Butler Snow LLP are released from disciplinary proceedings.

The Clerk of Court will serve a copy of the order on the General Counsel of the Alabama State Bar and any other applicable licensing authorities for further proceedings.