0. Source disclosure
Court-documented incident. Primary source: Park v. Kim, 91 F.4th 610 (2d Cir. 2024) (decided Jan. 30, 2024).
- District docket (RECAP): CourtListener — Park v. Kim, 1:20-cv-02636
- Appellate opinion PDF (RECAP): storage.courtlistener.com … ca2.58482 … .pdf
source_class: court_documented
Counsel admitted generating a non-existent state-court citation with ChatGPT and failing to verify it before filing.
1. The Crime Scene (The Symptom)
In a reply brief on appeal, counsel cited a non-existent state court decision obtained via ChatGPT. When the Second Circuit ordered production of the decision, counsel could not furnish a copy because the case does not exist. The court referred counsel to the Grievance Panel and ordered disclosure to the client.
Court-established AI involvement: counsel admitted ChatGPT as the source of a fabricated authority submitted to a federal appellate court.
2. The Artifact (pattern preserved from the opinion)
The opinion describes citation to a non-existent decision that counsel could not produce. The pedagogical condensation:
[Non-existent state appellate decision cited in reply brief —
caption and reporter form appeared plausible; no authentic opinion exists.
Counsel later stated the citation was obtained via ChatGPT and not verified.]
See the public opinion for the court’s full description of the filing and counsel’s response.
3. The Evidence Breakdown (The Core Contradiction)
Claimed Authority: A state appellate decision cited in the reply brief (as described in the Second Circuit opinion).
The Reality Check: No authentic opinion exists. Counsel admitted inability to furnish a copy and use of ChatGPT.
Related (real) disposition: Park v. Kim, 91 F.4th 610 (2d Cir. 2024) — the real opinion documenting the fabrication and referral. Do not confuse the real Park opinion with the fabricated authority counsel cited inside the briefing.
Pattern: Surface-plausible citation + admitted generative-AI origin + failure of reasonable inquiry under Rule 11 / appellate practice standards.
4. The Dali Verification Check
Existence pass on the cited (fabricated) authority: authority_not_found. The real Park opinion at 91 F.4th 610 is the court document that establishes the failure — it is not itself the fake cite. Reconstruct from CourtListener / RECAP links above.