Senior lawyer apologises after filing AI-generated submissions in Victorian murder caseTopic:Law, Crime and Justice14h ago14 hours agoFri 15 Aug 2025 at 10:28amRishi Nathwani KC has apologised for filing AI-generated information.(ABC News: Kristian Silva)In short:A senior lawyer has apologised to a Victorian judge for filing submissions in a murder case that included AI-generated errors.The fake submissions included fabricated quotes from a speech to the state legislature and non-existent case citations purportedly from the Supreme Court.The AI-generated errors caused a 24-hour delay in resolving a case.A senior lawyer has apologised to a Victorian judge for filing submissions in a murder case that included fake quotes and non-existent case judgements generated by artificial intelligence (AI).Defence lawyer Rishi Nathwani, who holds the title of King’s Counsel, took "full responsibility" for filing incorrect information in submissions in the case of a teenager charged with murder, according to court documents seen by The Associated Press on Friday."We are deeply sorry and embarrassed for what occurred," Mr Nathwani told Justice James Elliott on Wednesday, on behalf of the defence team.The AI-generated errors caused a 24-hour delay in resolving a case that Justice Elliott had hoped to conclude on Wednesday.The submissions delayed the resolution in the case of a teenager charged with murder.(ABC News: Alexandra Alvaro)He later ruled on Thursday that Mr Nathwani’s client, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, was not guilty of murder because of mental impairment."At the risk of understatement, the manner in which these events have unfolded is unsatisfactory," Justice Elliott told lawyers on Thursday."The ability of the court to rely upon the accuracy of submissions made by counsel is fundamental to the due administration of justice."The fake submissions included fabricated quotes from a speech to the state legislature and non-existent case citations purportedly from the Supreme Court.The errors were discovered by the Justice's associates, who couldn’t find the cases and requested that defence lawyers provide copies.The lawyers admitted the citations "do not exist" and that the submission contained "fictitious quotes", court documents say.The lawyers explained they checked that the initial citations were accurate and wrongly assumed the others would also be correct.The submissions were also sent to prosecutor Daniel Porceddu, who did not check their accuracy.The judge noted that the Supreme Court released guidelines last year for how lawyers use AI."It is not acceptable for artificial intelligence to be used unless the product of that use is independently and thoroughly verified," Justice Elliott said.The court documents do not identify the generative AI system used by the lawyers.In a comparable case in the United States in 2023, a federal judge imposed $US5,000 ($7,600) fines on two lawyers and a law firm after ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim.British High Court Justice Victoria Sharp warned in June that providing false material as if it were genuine could be considered contempt of court or, in the "most egregious cases", perverting the course of justice, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.AP