Senior lawyer apologises after filing AI-generated submissions in Victorian murder case
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.
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 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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
a few seconds ago
- ABC News
Serial rapist trusted by Australian doctor to run strip club jailed for 145 years
A male exotic dancer who persuaded an Australian doctor to buy a gay strip club in the US used the venue to prey on female patrons in the biggest serial rape case investigators have seen. Ali Quraishi, who was trusted to run "day-to-day" operations at the Portland club by its Brisbane-based owner Julian de Looze, was sentenced to 145 years in jail in February. Warning: This article contains content that may be upsetting for some readers. Quraishi plied women at Stag PDX with alcohol and lured them to a $US1,800-a-month apartment he rented solely for the purpose of raping and filming them, documenting his crimes in a diary he called his "stripper journey". Dr de Looze, who runs a department at Australia's largest hospital, the Royal Brisbane and Women's, told police and licensing officials that he knew nothing of Quraishi's crimes until after his arrest in March 2023. "Licensee De Looze explained that he trusted Ali since he had known him for a while and because he had been the one who suggested that he purchase Stag PDX," an Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) report said. Dr de Looze told licensing investigators that he texted Quraishi in jail after he was taken into custody. And Dr de Looze was present in Washington County Circuit Court last November when Quraishi was convicted on 23 charges involving nine victims, according to police. This included first-degree rape, sexual abuse, sodomy, invasion of personal privacy, unlawful dissemination of intimate images and assault. Dr de Looze, who is clinical director of acute medicine at the Royal Brisbane, declined an interview request from the ABC. The venue issued a statement saying Quraishi's "disturbing criminal actions were shocking to Stag PDX and its corporate officer". "These criminal actions were in stark contrast to the values upheld by Stag PDX, its employees and its corporate officer and were not known at the time," it said. "Stag PDX expresses its utmost sympathy with the victims of these crimes, and all those affected by them." Portland Detective Maggie Brown, speaking to the ABC in the first media interview of her 21-year career, said that it was "by far the biggest sex assault case I've ever worked". Detective Brown said there were more victims in other jurisdictions. Quraishi kept offending even after police raided his apartment and seized his phone in February 2023. The next month, he raped a woman from the club, whose friends contacted Stag that night to report the assault. But Quraishi was still employed by Stag when arrested weeks later. "Ali knows police are digging around, he knows I now have two cases on him, that I've served a warrant on this apartment, that I've taken his cell phone, that I'm poking around, like, 'I'm now in your space, and I'm looking through all your stuff,'" Detective Brown said. Detective Brown said that while there was no suggestion of criminal conduct by Dr de Looze, her police reports recorded multiple witness accounts of him failing to act on staff complaints about Quraishi's behaviour at work. "They were all trying to raise these concerns with Julian, and they told me, 'For whatever reason, Maggie, Julian protects him, and we don't understand why,'" she said. These complaints are under investigation by Oregon's Bureau of Labour and Industry (BOLI), with former staff alleging they suffered reprisals, including dismissal, for speaking up about Quraishi. In an interview with police and licensing officials from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) in May 2023, Dr de Looze described the relationship between Quraishi and other staff as "fractured and difficult", Detective Brown said. "He was getting complaints, and he wasn't sure what was true and what wasn't true," she said. "When we asked him about any sexual harassment allegations or complaints, he said he didn't know about any until Ali was arrested." The ABC obtained CCTV recordings from September 2021, in which bartender Franki Lucas told Dr de Looze that Quraishi was "an abuser" who targeted women at the club, including a patron who suspected he had drugged her and stolen her phone. Ms Lucas alleged that Quraishi had told her that "he's going to get me pregnant and I should carry his child" and then "pulled his dick out [and] charged me with his penis in the kitchen". Dr de Looze responded: "Is everything Ali's fault?" An OLCC report obtained by the ABC shows that when an investigator asked Dr de Looze how he was able to run a business from his home in Australia, he said he "trusted Ali to run the day-to-day operations". The OLCC investigated complaints about Quraishi, including "drug and alcohol use while [on] duty, masturbating in front of patrons/employees, inappropriate touching of patrons/employees, sexual harassment, pressuring bartenders to overserve customers, specific ones in particular, and complaints regarding how he would have people fired if they complained about his behavior". It said Dr de Looze "ultimately admitted to having at least some knowledge of Ali drinking on duty, telling people he (Licensee De Looze) would 'stick up for him' if anyone complained about his behavior, and a sexual harassment claim from Brittany Brock, a former bouncer at Stag PDX". He told the licensing officials that he "didn't learn of the other allegations until after Ali's rape arrest". An OLCC spokesman told the ABC there was "an open investigation [which] is not completed, and for that reason, we can't comment". The venue told the ABC it "takes any issue raised by its American regulators seriously and, as a good faith actor in such matters, is unable to provide commentary relating to any ongoing investigation or any review process". "Stag PDX has always cooperated proactively with its regulators," it said. "Stag PDX maintains comprehensive employee policies to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation, investigates complaints and takes appropriate action to enforce those policies in compliance with prevailing American and Oregon law and regulation." Ultimately, the judge found there was a "tidal wave of consistent testimony" from Quraishi's victims, Detective Brown said. "The consistent statement was, 'He would buy me a drink, told me he owned the club, and then I woke up in this strange apartment and had no memory of how I got there,'" she said. Some victims have never seen the videos Quraishi secretly made. At the sentencing, the detective said former employees thanked her "because for so long they have been trying to tell people and to get some sort of action about Ali and the problems that he was creating and the unsafe work environment that he was creating". "I got very positive feedback from them that it was good to see that he was held accountable and obviously the BOLI thing was moving forward, so there was some movement on what they had been observing all these years," she said. The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) did not respond to the ABC. Complaints to BOLI include one by former Stag general manager Matthew Aspiri, who said his concerns about Quraishi were "dismissed and brushed aside". "Many people were fooled and lied to," Mr Aspiri said.
ABC News
11 hours ago
- ABC News
Man charged with murder over death of Elmars Kalejs, who was found unconscious in Perth car park
A 48-year-old man has been charged with murder over the death of a WA father who was found with serious injuries lying next to his car on Good Friday. WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family. Elmars Kalejs, 53, was found by a passer-by on April 18, sprawled unconscious next to his silver Holden Commodore sedan in a car park near the Settlers' Common Environmental Centre in Bedfordale in Perth's south-east. He was taken to Royal Perth Hospital and treated for head injuries and broken ribs, but died two months later on June 24. WA police had appealed for information to help them piece together how Mr Kalejs sustained his injuries. At the time, his daughter Courtney Mallard said her family wanted to know what happened to him so they could have closure. She described him as a loving, gentle man who "lived off the land". Today police revealed they had charged the 48-year-old man, of Cloverdale, with murder. He is due to face the Perth Magistrates Court tomorrow.
News.com.au
11 hours ago
- News.com.au
Armed thugs filmed on camera during violent Gladstone Park home invasion
Armed thugs who shot, stabbed and assaulted a resident during a violent home invasion has been captured on camera. Resident Kemal Akbulut, 60, confronted multiple offenders who broke into his home on Trentham Dr in Gladstone Park about 1.25am on July 24. A group of four men armed with weapons, knives and guns assaulted and stabbed Mr Akbulut and threatened his cousin Birsel Akbulut, 57, with a gun. Shocking footage from the incident shows one of the thugs use a hammer to bash Mr Akbulut who can be heard screaming through the ordeal. One of the offenders points a gun at the victim and asks, 'Where's the money?' Mr Akbulut can be heard saying, 'I'll give you whatever you want.' Another man repeatedly stabs the victim while another offender points a gun at him and films it on his mobile phone. A police spokesman said the offenders allegedly fired a shot inside the home. 'The 60-year-old man sustained serious injuries consistent with a gun shot wound and was transported to hospital,' a police spokesman said. 'The woman was not physically injured.' The offenders fled in a white Haval SUV. 'They remain outstanding and the investigation remains ongoing,' a police spokesman said. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
