State v. Sandoval / In re Stephen D. Aarons
Record source: imported from Damien Charlotin’s AI Hallucination Cases Database (CC BY 4.0); document hosted in his archive: open the upstream document. What AI Vortex adds.
SC New Mexico · Sep 9, 2026
What happened in this matter?
Fabricated: Exhibits & Submissions | The AI-generated brief presented wholly fabricated witnesses—Officer Michelle Amarillo, Officer Sanchez, Manal Al-Jibury, and Teresa Marquez—and attributed false testimony to them. Aarons admitted the factual claims were not verified. Outcome: Direct contempt; Bar Referral; Disqualified and Barred from Appearing; Brief Struck; Monetary Sanction. Attorney Stephen D. Aarons admitted that he used ChatGPT to prepare the brief, failed to verify its contents, and filed it without informing his client of the inaccuracies. The brief included wholly fabricated witnesses and testimony, additional false testimony about threats and the shooter’s appearance, and misrepresented the holdings or legal authority of State v. Lopez and State v. Manus. The Supreme Court of New Mexico found him in direct contempt, referred him to the Disciplinary Board, barred him from appearing before the Court pending the proceedings, struck the briefing, and imposed a $5,000 payment to the State Bar of New Mexico Client Protection Fund.
- Why the court cared
- The structured public record identifies fake citations and misrepresented authority and records Direct contempt; Bar Referral; Disqualified and Barred from Appearing; Brief Struck; Monetary Sanction. The linked source controls the precise reasoning and procedural context.
- Why it matters now
- This matter connects fake citations and misrepresented authority with Direct contempt; Bar Referral; Disqualified and Barred from Appearing; Brief Struck; Monetary Sanction in SC New Mexico. It provides a source-linked baseline for verification, supervision, and response controls.
Why this matter is tracked
Fabricated: Exhibits & Submissions | The AI-generated brief presented wholly fabricated witnesses—Officer Michelle Amarillo, Officer Sanchez, Manal Al-Jibury, and Teresa Marquez—and attributed false testimony to them. Aarons admitted the factual claims were not verified. Outcome: Direct contempt; Bar Referral; Disqualified and Barred from Appearing; Brief Struck; Monetary Sanction. Attorney Stephen D. Aarons admitted that he used ChatGPT to prepare the brief, failed to verify its contents, and filed it without informing his client of the inaccuracies. The brief included wholly fabricated witnesses and testimony, additional false testimony about threats and the shooter’s appearance, and misrepresented the holdings or legal authority of State v. Lopez and State v. Manus. The Supreme Court of New Mexico found him in direct contempt, referred him to the Disciplinary Board, barred him from appearing before the Court pending the proceedings, struck the briefing, and imposed a $5,000 payment to the State Bar of New Mexico Client Protection Fund.
This matter connects fake citations and misrepresented authority with Direct contempt; Bar Referral; Disqualified and Barred from Appearing; Brief Struck; Monetary Sanction in SC New Mexico. It provides a source-linked baseline for verification, supervision, and response controls.
Record details
What the record establishes about AI use
ChatGPT is recorded in the source dataset; confirm the basis in the linked document.
Direct contempt; Bar Referral; Disqualified and Barred from Appearing; Brief Struck; Monetary Sanction
Correction behavior is not separately verified in the current record.
Tracked discrepancy record
5 citation, quotation, or authority issues are recorded in the source dataset.
- Fabricated: Exhibits & Submissions | The AI-generated brief presented wholly fabricated witnesses—Officer Michelle Amarillo, Officer Sanchez, Manal Al-Jibury, and Teresa Marquez—and attributed false testimony to them. Aarons admitted the factual claims were not verified.
- Fabricated: Exhibits & Submissions | The brief included false testimony attributed to Danny Stanton concerning threats from the defendant and to Linda Stanton concerning threats received by her husband. Aarons admitted these factual assertions were unverified.
- Fabricated: Exhibits & Submissions | The brief included false testimony attributed to Mariah Chavez and fabricated witness Teresa Marquez concerning the shooter’s clothing and appearance.
- Misrepresented: Case Law | The brief misrepresented the legal authority and holdings of State v. Lopez, 2005-NMSC-018, 138 N.M. 9, 116 P.3d 80. The Court identified this as a legal misrepresentation admitted by Aarons.
- Misrepresented: Case Law | The brief misrepresented the legal authority and holdings of State v. Manus, 1979-NMSC-035, 93 N.M. 95, 597 P.2d 280. The Court identified this as a legal misrepresentation admitted by Aarons.
Questions this record answers
- What happened in State v. Sandoval / In re Stephen D. Aarons?
- Fabricated: Exhibits & Submissions | The AI-generated brief presented wholly fabricated witnesses—Officer Michelle Amarillo, Officer Sanchez, Manal Al-Jibury, and Teresa Marquez—and attributed false testimony to them. Aarons admitted the factual claims were not verified. Outcome: Direct contempt; Bar Referral; Disqualified and Barred from Appearing; Brief Struck; Monetary Sanction. Attorney Stephen D. Aarons admitted that he used ChatGPT to prepare the brief, failed to verify its contents, and filed it without informing his client of the inaccuracies. The brief included wholly fabricated witnesses and testimony, additional false testimony about threats and the shooter’s appearance, and misrepresented the holdings or legal authority of State v. Lopez and State v. Manus. The Supreme Court of New Mexico found him in direct contempt, referred him to the Disciplinary Board, barred him from appearing before the Court pending the proceedings, struck the briefing, and imposed a $5,000 payment to the State Bar of New Mexico Client Protection Fund.
- Why does State v. Sandoval / In re Stephen D. Aarons matter for legal AI risk?
- This matter connects fake citations and misrepresented authority with Direct contempt; Bar Referral; Disqualified and Barred from Appearing; Brief Struck; Monetary Sanction in SC New Mexico. It provides a source-linked baseline for verification, supervision, and response controls.
- What does the public record establish about State v. Sandoval / In re Stephen D. Aarons?
- The record summarizes the outcome described in the linked public source. The recorded document is hosted in the upstream publisher archive. This page is not a substitute for the complete docket, subsequent history, or jurisdiction-specific advice.
- Which source supports this State v. Sandoval / In re Stephen D. Aarons summary?
- The recorded source is Damien Charlotin case archive. It is classified as publisher document archive; review the linked material and subsequent docket history before relying on this summary.
Weekly alert: new AI-hallucination court cases
One short email a week with the newly recorded cases, courts and sanctions. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.