Cleveland defense attorney faces scrutiny for using AI to draft court motion

A defense attorney in Cleveland could be sanctioned in two Ohio counties after submitting court filings that apparently contained fabricated legal citations and artificial intelligence-generated content.

Cleveland.com reported that prosecutors and judges criticized documents presented in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and the 11th Ohio District Court of Appeals. They raised concerns about the ethical implications of artificial intelligence in legal practice.

According to the report, William Norman acknowledged the error and blamed it on a paralegal.

He indicated that a member of his practice used ChatGPT to draft a motion to reopen an appeal in the case of Malikhi Coleman, who was convicted of murder in Ashtabula County. Included in the motion were quotes that did not exist in the trial transcript.

“ChatGPT hallucinated inaccurate trial transcript quotes that it improperly attributed to the prosecutor in closing (statements) from the trial,” Norman’s attorney, Joseph Dunson, said, arguing that the error was not made in bad faith, Cleveland.com reported.

Dunson said Norman took accountability and implemented a new process in the office to prevent future misuse and paid $2,000 to the Ashtabula County prosecutor’s office as part of the settlement.

However, Ashtabula County prosecutors said Norman violated professional rules requiring attorneys to certify that their filings are factual and lawful. Prosecutors cited cases nationwide in which courts have handed down sanctions for similar AI-related misconduct, including public reprimands, disqualification from cases, and mandatory notifications to bar associations and judges.

“Mr. Norman has committed significant misconduct in this case, and there are unfortunate indications that it may happen again,” Dane Hixon, an assistant county prosecutor, wrote, adding that he deferred to the court in deciding appropriate sanctions.

Ohio lawmakers previously tried to become more AI-friendly, including creating a framework for AI systems and technology in the state, NBC 4 reported.

“I think there’s a lot of potential in this space, economic potential. We want Ohio to be welcoming,” state Rep. Tex Fischer, R-Boardman, told the station.

Fischer, one of the Republicans behind House Bill 392, said the bill’s goal is to create a framework that attracts businesses to the state while protecting Ohioans.

“Creating a very limited framework that allows for a market, I think, will send a signal that Ohio is open for business,” he said. “We want folks to invest here. Businesses always look for certainty. They want to understand what they’re getting themselves into. They want to understand what they’re going to have to comply with if they come to our state.”

EdWeek also reported that Ohio became the first state to require AI policies for all of its K-12 schools.

However, Ohio lawmakers also tried to restrict AI. State Rep. Thaddeus Claggett, R-Licking, introduced House Bill 469 that would prohibit AI systems from owning property, managing bank accounts, serving as company executives, having the same rights as human beings and getting married to both people and other AI systems, Fox News reported.