Attorney Sanctioned for Using Artificial Intelligence to Draft a Motion. How Far Can You Go with AI?

Case Alert 
By Robert Phillips  
Deputy District Attorney (ret.) 

Legal Concepts and Case Citation 
Artificial intelligence and documents filed with a court 
An attorney’s ethical responsibility for the accuracy of court filings 
People v. Alvarez (Oct. 2, 2025) 114 Cal.App.5th 1115 

Rule: While the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in court filings is not improper, it is the attorney’s legal and ethical responsibility to ensure that those filings do not misquote or misrepresent the law. 

Summary: A California attorney filed a written motion to dismiss with the Fourth District Court of Appeals. Upon checking the citations used in the motion, the court discovered many of the cases cited were either non-existent or did not relate to the arguments being made by the attorney. Quotes used in the filings were also found to be either misstated or non-existent. At a hearing to show cause, the attorney admitted to the court that he had used AI in the writing of his motion and that, in his haste, he failed to check the validity of the cites and the quotes he used. The court found this oversight by the attorney to be a violation of various provisions of the Business and Professions Code, the State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct and the California Rules of Court. The attorney was relieved as the ....