MyPillow CEO’s Legal Team in Hot Water Over AI-Generated Brief
DENVER — MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and his legal team are facing potential sanctions from a federal judge in Colorado after she discovered that a recent brief they submitted contained numerous references to fake court cases. Federal judge Nina Wang found approximately 30 defective citations in the brief filed in February, ranging from misquotes to “citations of cases that do not exist”. The brief was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence, according to court documents.
Attorney David Lane, not involved in the case but practicing in Denver, commented on the situation, saying, “You can use [AI], but you have to go check the cites. If you’re going to cite ‘People versus Smith’ and this is the case number, you’ve got to go look to see, is there such a case?” Lane noted that while many lawyers use AI to streamline their work, the technology is not yet reliable enough to replace legal professionals entirely.
“There’s a thing out there called AI hallucinations, which AI simply makes things up,” Lane explained. “If any lawyer is ridiculous enough to rely only on AI to write a brief, they deserve to be held in contempt.” Judge Wang has ordered Lindell, attorney Christopher Kachouroff, and another member of the legal team, Jennifer DeMaster, to show cause why they should not face court sanctions and be referred for disciplinary action.
Lindell’s legal team acknowledged using AI in their filing, stating, “There is nothing wrong with using AI when properly used.” Kachouroff claimed that the document in question was an earlier draft submitted by mistake due to ‘human error’. The latest filing also alleged that they did not realize the mistake until Judge Wang questioned them without notice in open court 55 days after it was submitted.
The problematic brief is part of an ongoing defamation case involving a former executive at Dominion Voting Systems, filed against Lindell in 2022. The case has drawn attention from the legal community, with many watching to see how it unfolds.
