State v. Sandoval / In re Stephen D. Aarons
SC New Mexico · Sep 9, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- State
- Court
- SC New Mexico
- Record ID
- state-v-sandoval-in-re-stephen-d-aarons-2026-09-09
- Observed outcome
- Direct contempt; Bar Referral; Disqualified and Barred from Appearing; Brief Struck; Monetary Sanction
- Known monetary consequence
- $5,000
Why this matter warrants attention
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.
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.
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.
Failure modes and consequences
- Fake Citations
- Misrepresented Authority
- Bar Referral
- Disqualification
- Criminal
- Trial
- AI attribution
- Reported
- Recorded tool
- ChatGPT
- Known monetary consequence
- $5,000
- Procedural posture
- Direct contempt; Bar Referral; Disqualified and Barred from Appearing; Brief Struck; Monetary Sanction
Damien Charlotin case archive
Publisher document archive. The recorded document is hosted in the upstream publisher archive.
Open underlying sourceA recorded source link is not a substitute for checking the underlying order, filing, opinion, or disciplinary record.
What this record does—and does not—establish
ChatGPT is recorded in the source dataset; confirm the basis in the linked document.
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.
Controls suggested by the public record
- Verify the existence, citation, court, and precedential status of every authority before filing.
- Confirm that each authority supports the stated proposition and has not been mischaracterized.
- Read the linked source and subsequent docket history before relying on this record for legal work.