#lawfedi — Public Fediverse posts

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Do I get credit from the court for sort-of halfway-almost verifying my #AI citations?

A CT lawyer submitted a brief with all real cases, but that also included erroneous pinpoint citations, fake case quotes and misrepresentations of the law. On a show cause order, he explained that he wrote the brief himself, then ran it through Claude, ChatGPT and Open Law “for suggestions on arguments and ... (cont.)

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ctd.169303/gov.uscourts.ctd.169303.43.0.pdf
#law #lawfedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If trial counsel is mistakenly listed on the docket as appellate counsel, can he ignore the appellate court’s orders?

After his first appointed trial counsel withdrew, an IA criminal defendant filed what was liberally construed as a pro se appeal from a pretrial order. Later, successor trial counsel was appointed. Successor counsel was also acknowledged by the appellate court clerk as counsel for the pending ... (cont.)

https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/supreme-court-opinions/case/25-1787
#law #lawfedi

Today, federal District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued a 14 day emergency stay on USPS preparing to implement or implementing its now final rule attempting to control how states mail out ballots to vote-from-home voters. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.298449/gov.uscourts.mad.298449.218.0_1.pdf 1/ #LawFedi

New blogpost:

> On lawyers, ethics, and integrity

Some notes on a new book about ethics in the legal profession following the Post Office scandal.

I'd be particularly interested to hear what training or reading on ethics you, personally, have found interesting or inspiring? (Especially in professions other than law.)

https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/08/on-lawyers-ethics-and-integrity/

#ethics #CPD #lawfedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Do the ethics rules require me to notice and call out my opponent’s #AI hallucinations?

The VA bar is considering proposed Legal Ethics Opinion 1902, entitled “DUTIES WHEN OPPOSING COUNSEL FAILS TO REVIEW AND CORRECT GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) OUTPUTS.” The opinion states that while most ethics guidance about AI has concerned AI users, there also needs to be a discussion about “ethical duties for ... (cont.)

https://vsb.org/common/Uploaded%20files/docs/20260527-leo-1902-proposed.pdf
#law #lawfedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can a court just decide that my conflict waivers are not in my clients’ interests?

Plaintiffs Driver and Passenger were in a car hit by a defendant UPS driver. Both Plaintiffs Driver and Passenger hired the same NY lawyer to file claims against the UPS driver, and the UPS driver counterclaimed alleging that Plaintiff Driver was a fault. In the ... (cont.)

ttps://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/other-courts/2026/2026-ny-slip-op-50314-u.html
#law #lawfedi

Monday, the Roberts Six vacated a Massachusetts District Court judge’s preliminary injunction against Trump’s to federalize control of state voting rolls and the mailed ballots process. Yesterday, plaintiffs in other lawsuits took action to get new injunctions in place. Today, the plaintiffs in the Mass District Court case have moved for such a new injunction, in light of the Trump regime, via USPS, taking definitive steps to operationalize Trump’s plan. 4/ #LawFedi

New activity today in legal efforts to prevent Trump from unlawfully interfering with mail-in voting.

A reminder of what Trump is attempting: he’s trying to use the USPS to control who gets absentee/mail-in ballots. This is to throttle vote-from-home, which for many people has meant requesting a ballot be mailed to them, which they then complete and return by hand or mail. Trump is trying to limit who receives ballots by mail. 1/ #LawFedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I create a conflict of interest by falsely declaring I represent my opponent?

The majority owner of a CA car dealership fired the manager, who was also a minority owner. When the manager kept coming to work and refused to leave, the dealership initiated a trespass action against him. The manager hired a lawyer to represent him in the trespass proceedings. Meanwhile, the dealership was also in hot water with ... (cont.)

https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/B346575.PDF
#law #lawfedi

Turns out sending words on stationary is effective in getting people to fold.

The threat of litigation —not actual litigation—is enough to terrify people.

That’s the bigger takeaway.

#LawFedi #IANAL #Cease_and_desist

Today, all the plaintiffs suing to stop Trump from unlawfully interfering with mail-in voting have sought to amend their complaints in response to the ruling yesterday from the Roberts Six that lifted the temporary injunction previously in effect. 1/ #LawFedi

Roughly roughly, for each eight hour working day, running decoded.legal (office, AC, all our self-hosted servers (running 24/7) etc.), uses 6.2 kWh of electricity.

This is down from 8.4 kWh when I last measured it.

(I have shut down and consolidated a few (quite low power) servers recently, and I've done some more measuring.)

https://decoded.legal/environmental_policy/

#environment #lawfedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: How much research should I do to make sure the arbitrator is not conflicted?

A NY insurance dispute was arbitrated by a three-member panel. Each party appointed one arbitrator, and the third arbitrator was a true neutral “umpire.” In May 2025, the parties signed a covenant not to sue agreeing that the arbitrators had disclosed all conflicts “to the best of their recollection” and that they would not sue the arbitrators ...(cont.)

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.658868/gov.uscourts.nysd.658868.50.0.pdf
#law #lawfedi

Update in USA v. #Hearn the former Olympic athlete charged with destruction of the Reflecting Pool without cited evidence on a bare bones indictment which discloses nothing beyond a recitation of the statute. #LawFedi

2026/08/18 #Pirro argues for dismissal without prejudice.

Weird.

> At the outset it should be noted that the government sought this indictment in good faith after the Department of the Interior ("DOI") provided evidence, albeit incomplete, that there was vandalism to the Reflecting Pool. However, based on newly received Brady materials from DOI, the government could not sustain its burden that the defendant's actions caused further damage to the lined beyond the condition that Bay 4 was already in. Accordingly, consistent both with its evidence, its burden of proof, and its ethical obligations, the government was required to move to dismiss the case pursuant to Rule 48. This, however, does not suggest that there was no vandalism to other areas of the Reflecting Pool.

① If more evidence from the DOI suggests there was no crime here, then doesn't make the decision to go to the grand jury with the incomplete evidence suspect?

② What *did* you tell the Grand Jury to get this indictment on incomplete evidence?

③ Where is support for government ethic beyond the pragmatism of noticing the emperor has no clothes?

④ Even if other vandals did damage elsewhere, why does this case not require dismissal with prejudice?

⑤ Why does Pirro credit eyewitnesses partially (page 3 drops the "violently" adverb (page 4) on Hearn's alleged pulling on the liner).

⑥ If warranty repair, how can there be economic damage?

⑦ What new evidence could support re-indictment?

Hearing 2026/09/04

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Your Colorado federal court admission doesn’t mean you can hold yourself out as a Colorado lawyer.

A TX class action lawyer was admitted in TX and also in the federal District Court of Colorado, where he had an ongoing matter. When he appeared in that court to defend his firm’s allegedly false and misleading solicitations to potential class members, he stated that he was “admitted to practice in Colorado, like ... (cont.)

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cod.229426/gov.uscourts.cod.229426.134.0.pdf
#law #lawfedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I use #AI to record my conversations with opposing counsel?

The NYC Bar has issued an opinion building on its prior opinion regarding the use of #AI to record conversations with clients. This time, the Bar considers the use of #AI to record conversations with everyone else. The prior opinion regarding the use of #AI to record clients opined that attorneys must (1) get permission from the client, even in a one-party ... (cont.)

https://www.nycbar.org/reports/formal-opinion-2026-2-ethical-use-of-ai-for-recording-transcribing-and-summarizing-non-client-conversations/
#law #lawfedi

John Roberts did Trump’s bidding on Friday, administratively staying a lower court order halting ballroom construction while the merits of the case are tried. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/us-chief-justice-lets-trump-keep-building-ballroom-for-now
Except for the fact that Roberts is lawless, this is weird because such stays are meant to preserve the status quo. I would have thought the status quo is a barely built structure, rather than a huge one with a bunker being completed. #LawFedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I help my client sue the government at the same time he controls the government?

In January 2026, a FL man sued a government in FL federal court. At this time, the FL man was also temporarily in charge of the government, so he was kind of suing himself. When the court expressed some discomfort over the possibility of a collusive lawsuit, the FL man dismissed the suit in an attempt to divest the court of ... (cont.)

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172.106.0_2.pdf
#law #lawfedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Should a criminal defendant be restricted from using #AI if the government’s investigation is ongoing?

The SDNY issued a protective order in a drug distribution case. The protective order recited that the normally required discovery disclosures would include information that, if disclosed, “would impede [] the Government’s ongoing investigation of uncharged individuals.” Therefore, the order included restrictions on the ... (cont.)

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.666367/gov.uscourts.nysd.666367.23.0.pdf
#law #lawfedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I talk to a represented party if her lawyer is incapacitated?

A WA plaintiff’s lawyer had previously requested a continuance of a trial date due to a health condition. With the new trial date approaching, defense counsel reached out to the plaintiff’s lawyer with a settlement offer. What defense counsel got back was message from a paralegal explaining that “due to her medical condition, [the plaintiff’s lawyer] could ... (cont.)

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.339711/gov.uscourts.wawd.339711.251.0.pdf
#law #lawfedi

Tuesday: the US claims no international body (the ICC) can bind it without its consent

(the ICC lets a state contest its jurisdiction on the merits and defers to national courts that prosecute)

Thursday: the US claims the right to dictate other sovereign states’ laws and economies, with no forum for the Netherlands to contest on merits

#lawfedi #icc #asml

https://nltimes.nl/2026/08/20/us-preparing-foce-netherlands-ban-asml-selling-china

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Is my “closed” #AI system less likely to hallucinate cases?

A LA lawyer used ChatGPT and Claude to write her briefs and did not review them, resulting in false citations and quotations. When opposing counsel pointed out the problem, she didn’t make any serious efforts to correct her brief and even submitted additional hallucinations.

When the court issued a show cause order, the lawyer responded that she “believed the ...(cont.)

https://lnkd.in/gXMKxpgw
#law #lawfedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: I know I’m not allowed to solicit my client for sex – but what about my client’s cute significant other?

An OH lawyer was hired by a man to represent him in a child support matter. At the time, the man had a girlfriend, who dropped off some paperwork at the lawyer’s office. Shortly after this, the lawyer Snapchat messaged the client’s girlfriend and asked her about her relationship ... (cont.)

https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/pdf_viewer/pdf_viewer.aspx?pdf=243926.pdf&subdirectory=2025-1640\DecisionItems&source=DL_Clerk
#law #lawfedi

The Bonomi case, the case about the man who borrowed millions of dollars to buy a house on an eroding cliff in Wellfleet, has been in the news recently. Here is a comment on a conflict of laws problem in the case.

#lawfedi

https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/08/17/case-of-the-day-bonomi-v-jpmorgan-chase/

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If the judge used to represent a witness, does she have to recuse herself?

In a NJ dispute over a domestic violence restraining order, the defendant offered his mom to testify. The judge ruled the testimony inadmissible but also happened to recognize mom and asked her if she had been the judge’s client some 20 years before in an auto accident case. Mom confirmed this was correct. Both plaintiff and defendant waived any ... (cont.)

https://www.njcourts.gov/system/files/court-opinions/2026/a3119-23.pdf
#law #lawfedi

Update in USA v. #Hearn 2026 CF2 010237, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, , the former Olympic athlete charged with destruction of the Reflecting Pool without cited evidence on a bare bones indictment which discloses nothing beyond a recitation of the statute. #LawFedi

2026/08/14 Hearn's attorney's point out for a Government which moved to dismiss they are still making prosecute noises on the same meritless record and also include a list of all the evidence they are owed but the government is slow walking esp. as it shows what the government knew before it charged Hearn.

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Rinse and repeat is not a good strategy for #AI legal drafting

An AL attorney submitted a brief with “completely made up” case quotations. In response to a show cause order, the lawyer explained that he loaded a bunch of stuff into ChatGPT, asked it produce an outline, then uploaded the outline into OpenCase to provide a “more refined draft.” Then he just repeated this process over and over until a final ... (cont.)

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.alnd.191755/gov.uscourts.alnd.191755.70.0.pdf
#law #lawfedi

Update in USA v. #Hearn 2026 CF2 010237, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, , the former Olympic athlete charged with destruction of the Reflecting Pool without cited evidence on a bare bones indictment which discloses nothing beyond a recitation of the statute. #LawFedi https://eaccess.dccourts.gov/eaccess/

2026/08/06 The judge dismissed the indictment with the decision on whether it is with prejudice following the upcoming 2026/09/04 hearing.

2026/08/18 Deadline for Pirro's argument of why it should not be with prejudice.

2026/08/25 (or 7 days after Pirro) Hearn gets to reply to Pirro's arguments.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/117083504614590649

Kalshi seeks an order enjoining ... Connecticut's gaming regulatory .... Kalshi contends that federal law preempts Connecticut's gaming regulatory regime and related statutes. For the reasons that follow, the Motion is DENIED.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71990229/94/kalshiex-llc-v-cafferelli/
#Gambling #Consumerprotection #lawfedi

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I subpoena ChatGPT for the opposing party’s chatlogs?

A NY state court plaintiff subpoenaed OpenAI for the defendant’s chatlogs, arguing that his AI interactions were reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery relevant evidence. The defendant moved to quash, arguing that the materials sought were “privileged as ‘litigation preparation.”

Plaintiff claimed their position was supported by US v. Heppner, in which ... (cont.)

https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/other-courts/2026/2026-ny-slip-op-26086.html
#law #lawfedi