In a recent ruling, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan decided against sanctioning Michael Cohen, former lawyer and associate of Donald Trump, for unintentionally submitting fake legal case citations created by artificial intelligence in a court filing. This incident was deemed “embarrassing” but not malicious. Cohen, who faced legal repercussions in 2018 for campaign finance violations and tax evasion, is gearing up to be a key witness in Trump’s upcoming criminal trial over hush money payments. Despite the blunder, Furman chose not to terminate Cohen’s court-supervised release but hinted at potential perjury by Cohen.
The controversial citations emerged in a request to conclude Cohen’s supervised release early, with the AI-powered Google Bard generating references to non-existent legal cases. Cohen’s counsel, David Schwartz, admitted the mistake after assuming the information’s validity based on another lawyer’s reputed expertise. Judge Furman criticized the oversight as negligent but found no intentional wrongdoing.
Furman expressed surprise over Cohen’s misunderstanding of Google Bard’s capabilities, emphasizing the importance of discerning between AI-generated content and legitimate legal resources. The judiciary has recently spotlighted the cautious use of AI in legal documents to prevent such errors.
The request to end Cohen’s supervised release was part of his effort to showcase remorse and a dedication to legal integrity, following his involvement in a civil fraud case against Trump. However, Furman highlighted inconsistencies in Cohen’s testimonies, suggesting a reluctance to fully accept responsibility for past actions. Despite the lack of sanctions, the episode underscores the challenges and pitfalls of integrating AI technologies into legal practices.
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