Federal Judge Disqualifies Three Alabama Attorneys Over AI-Fabricated Citations

U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco of the Northern District of Alabama sanctioned and disqualified three Butler Snow LLP attorneys—Matthew Reeves, William Cranford, and William Lunsford—for submitting court filings containing fabricated case citations generated by artificial intelligence in defense of the Alabama Department of Corrections. The judge condemned their actions as serious misconduct, describing it as an utter disregard for legal responsibilities and tantamount to bad faith, especially criticizing Lunsford's supervisory role and failure to verify the filings bearing his signature. Manasco emphasized that such AI misuse demands harsher accountability than the common reprimands and modest fines issued in similar cases nationwide. The case involved defending former Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn in a lawsuit alleging inadequate inmate protection, with Reeves admitting to using AI without proper verification and apologizing for his lapse in judgment. The judge referred the matter to the Alabama State Bar for further disciplinary proceedings and paused the case to allow the state to secure new legal representation. This incident highlights ongoing concerns about the reliance on AI tools like ChatGPT in legal research and the professional obligation of lawyers to independently verify all information.