Coding, Data Science, A.I. catch-All | Grok update goes MechaHitler

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After second federal judge withdraws error-riddled ruling, litigants seek explanation​



“… U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate of the Southern District of Mississippi withdrew the July 20 opinion on July 23, a day after the attorney general’s office pointed out the errors in a July 22 motion to clarify.

Wingate’s withdrawn opinion referenced allegations and parties not in the lawsuit, nonexistent declarations by four people, and language not found in the state law being challenged, according to the motions.

Reuters, Bloomberg Law and Law360 have coverage.

The errors were found in Wingate’s temporary restraining order blocking a Mississippi law that prohibits programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion or that endorse concepts such as gender identity and gender theory.

In the withdrawn opinion, Wingate cited “specific institutional impacts” from the withdrawal of DEI offices and initiatives at three state universities, even though there are no allegations to that effect in the complaint, according to the July 22 motion.

The withdrawn TRO also stated that faculty members at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, “have been instructed not to discuss gender theory or historical interpretations involving systemic racism,” although evidence in the record and suit allegations do not support that claim.

Wingate substituted a new opinion on July 23, according to the attorney general’s office. It was filed and stamped July 20 but dated and signed July 22.…”
 

Apparent AI mistakes force two judges to retract separate rulings​

The errors in both cases come as the number of US adults embracing AI continues to grow — despite the profound risks associated with workplace use​



“Two U.S. judges in separate federal courts scrapped their rulings last week after lawyers alerted them to filings that contained inaccurate case details or seemingly "hallucinated" quotes that misquoted cited cases — the latest in a string of errors that suggest the growing use of artificial intelligence in legal research and submissions.

In New Jersey, U.S. District Judge Julien Neals withdrew his denial of a motion to dismiss a securities fraud case after lawyers revealed the decision relied on filings with "pervasive and material inaccuracies."

The filing pointed to "numerous instances" of made-up quotes submitted by attorneys, as well as three separate instances when the outcome of lawsuits appeared to have been mistaken, prompting Neals to withdraw his decision.

In Mississippi, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate replaced his original July 20 temporary restraining order that paused enforcement of a state law blocking diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools after lawyers notified the judge of serious errors submitted by the attorney.

They informed the court that the decision "relie[d] upon the purported declaration testimony of four individuals whose declarations do not appear in the record for this case."

Wingate subsequently issued a new ruling, though lawyers for the state have asked his original order to be placed back on the docket. …”

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What the heck were the judicial clerks doing in these cases? Clerks used to check every case cited and evidence in the record …
 

Apparent AI mistakes force two judges to retract separate rulings​

The errors in both cases come as the number of US adults embracing AI continues to grow — despite the profound risks associated with workplace use​



“Two U.S. judges in separate federal courts scrapped their rulings last week after lawyers alerted them to filings that contained inaccurate case details or seemingly "hallucinated" quotes that misquoted cited cases — the latest in a string of errors that suggest the growing use of artificial intelligence in legal research and submissions.

In New Jersey, U.S. District Judge Julien Neals withdrew his denial of a motion to dismiss a securities fraud case after lawyers revealed the decision relied on filings with "pervasive and material inaccuracies."

The filing pointed to "numerous instances" of made-up quotes submitted by attorneys, as well as three separate instances when the outcome of lawsuits appeared to have been mistaken, prompting Neals to withdraw his decision.

In Mississippi, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate replaced his original July 20 temporary restraining order that paused enforcement of a state law blocking diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools after lawyers notified the judge of serious errors submitted by the attorney.

They informed the court that the decision "relie[d] upon the purported declaration testimony of four individuals whose declarations do not appear in the record for this case."

Wingate subsequently issued a new ruling, though lawyers for the state have asked his original order to be placed back on the docket. …”

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What the heck were the judicial clerks doing in these cases? Clerks used to check every case cited and evidence in the record …
Oops. Ironically, the clerks could have used AI to check the cases cited and it would have worked well. That's a much better use case with current AI models than generating motions.
 
How long before two different AI's are arguing cases before another AI who will decide the case? Seems like the entire legal system is ripe for takeover by AI. Considering the current Supreme Court, it might be an improvement...
 
How long before two different AI's are arguing cases before another AI who will decide the case? Seems like the entire legal system is ripe for takeover by AI. Considering the current Supreme Court, it might be an improvement...
Oh, absolutely. I’m all in for our AI overlord. It may wipe us out, but we may wipe ourselves out. I’d bet the percentages for the latter are higher than the former. It’s likely time to give the keys to someone(something) else.
 
What the heck were the judicial clerks doing in these cases? Clerks used to check every case cited and evidence in the record …
It very much depends on the judge. IIRC you interned for Sotomayor. Well, she's a very serious judge (obviously) and wouldn't let anyone get away with that.

By contrast, Judge Sack on the Second Circuit was famous for letting his clerks do most of the work, with him just sort of sanity checking it at the end. Posner was famous for not letting his clerks do much of anything.

I suspect that these judges delegate a lot of authority to their clerks (the one in MS is quite old), and the clerks enjoyed their summer weekends after getting AI to do their work.
 
It very much depends on the judge. IIRC you interned for Sotomayor. Well, she's a very serious judge (obviously) and wouldn't let anyone get away with that.

By contrast, Judge Sack on the Second Circuit was famous for letting his clerks do most of the work, with him just sort of sanity checking it at the end. Posner was famous for not letting his clerks do much of anything.

I suspect that these judges delegate a lot of authority to their clerks (the one in MS is quite old), and the clerks enjoyed their summer weekends after getting AI to do their work.
Student clerkship, not post graduate clerkship, but you recall correctly (I went straight to JonesDay out of law school, with all my debt I couldn’t afford to clerk). And, yeah, zero chance something like that would happen in Sotomayor’s court. She was demanding of her clerks and even moreso of herself. Of course, things may have changed a great deal since I did that in the mid 1990s … maybe clerks are not held to the same standards now. Yeesh.
 
Student clerkship, not post graduate clerkship, but you recall correctly (I went straight to JonesDay out of law school, with all my debt I couldn’t afford to clerk). And, yeah, zero chance something like that would happen in Sotomayor’s court. She was demanding of her clerks and even moreso of herself. Of course, things may have changed a great deal since I did that in the mid 1990s … maybe clerks are not held to the same standards now. Yeesh.
I suspect it's more a function of a few things:

1. District court judges who often have huge caseloads.
2. July. I don't know the clerking schedule for the district courts but at the appellate courts, the clerkships end in July or early August. The clerks are so ready to be done. In fact, the judges might have let one of the clerks leave early to join a firm or study for the bar. But in any event, the clerks aren't going to be motivated.
3. I don't know. It seems inexplicable for something this egregious to get through.
 
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