Federal Judge Sanctions Alabama Lawyers for Fake AI-Generated Case Citations

U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco sanctioned and removed three attorneys from the Butler Snow law firm for submitting court filings containing fabricated case citations generated by the AI tool ChatGPT in a lawsuit against Alabama's prison system. The attorneys, including division head William R. Lunsford and lawyers Matthew B. Reeves and William J. Cranford, admitted that AI was used to generate legal citations without verification, leading to significant misrepresentations described by the judge as "recklessness in the extreme." The filings were part of a lawsuit brought by inmate Frankie Johnson, who alleged repeated stabbings at the overcrowded William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility due to inadequate prison protections. Judge Manasco ordered the attorneys to notify all clients, opposing counsel, and judges about the sanctions and referred the case to the Alabama State Bar for possible disciplinary action. Despite Butler Snow being paid over $40 million since 2020 for prison-related litigation, the judge criticized the firm and the Alabama Department of Corrections for continuing to employ the sanctioned attorneys. The ruling highlights growing judicial concerns over AI misuse in legal practice and the serious consequences for fabricating legal authority through AI-generated content.