Technology,
Family,
Appellate Practice
May 4, 2026
Bad AI citations: The 'crimes'
A recent California Court of Appeal opinion in In re Domestic Partnership of Torres Campos & Munoz exposes how lawyers, and even a trial court, relied on fictitious AI-generated legal citations in a pet custody dispute--leading the appellate court to condemn the conduct as a serious breakdown in professional responsibility across counsel and the bench.
Myron Moskovitz
Legal Director
Moskovitz Appellate Team
90 Crocker Ave
Piedmont , CA 94611-3823
Phone: (510) 384-0354
Email: myronmoskovitz@gmail.com
UC Berkeley SOL Boalt Hal
A recent appellate opinion deals with a disease that should have been killed in the cradle but instead seems to be growing: lawyers--and now judges--using AI to find non-existent cases that support their arguments.
Here's my summary of what happened in In Re Domestic Partnership of Torres Campos & Munoz (2026)118 Cal.App.5th 1112. Sorry it's so long, but the details are important. All of the following comes from the appellate court's op...
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