Civil Procedure,
Appellate Practice
Feb. 6, 2026
The tipsy coachman needs a sober map: AI-fabricated authority as per se reversible error
AI-generated hallucinations are appearing in California court filings. When a decision rests on cases that don't exist, appellate review becomes impossible: You cannot judge the route when you cannot trust the map. California should recognize fabricated legal authority as per se reversible error, no prejudice analysis required.
When I read that a trial judge had signed a proposed order
containing AI hallucinations, I thought about all the orders I'd reviewed over
the years. Party-proposed findings. Stipulated judgments. Routine motions
granted on the papers. I'd checked whether the citations supported the
propositions. Whether the holdings matched the claims. Whether the reasoning
tracked the law.
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