A judge sanctioned Kenosha County District Attorney Xavier Solis for using artificial intelligence in court filings.
Circuit Judge David Hughes on Friday accused Solis of using AI in response to a defense attorney’s request to have the theft case dismissed.
Hughes attacked the entire response, noting that Solis acknowledged failing to disclose the use of AI in his filing.
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Hughes accused Solis of “hallucinations and false citations,” according to online court records.
An illusion is when an AI model produces false or misleading results.
On Friday, Hughes agreed to waive the lawsuit. While asking for the case to be dismissed, the defense had pointed out that there were problems in establishing the grounds for indictment at the pre-trial stage.
Hughes agreed to dismiss the case without prejudice, which means new lawsuits could be filed in the future.
The case began in 2023 when prosecutors charged the now 32-year-old resident of Chicago Heights, Illinois.
The Illinois man was charged with more than 20 felonies for allegedly breaking into the cargo area of a trailer. He also faced multiple charges of theft and criminal damage to property.
Michael Cicchini, the Chicago Heights man’s attorney, said Solis’ use of AI was not the only thing that came up during the lawsuit.
“The judge actually granted my motion to dismiss on substantial grounds,” Cicchini said in an emailed statement. “In other words, the judge determined that there was no probable cause that the defendant committed the crime. The judge’s decision was based on evidence presented by the state at a preliminary hearing held nearly two years ago under the previous district attorney administration.”
In an email to WPR, Solis said the judge’s decision to dismiss the case was not due to the use of AI.
After initially failing to disclose the use of “AI-assisted tools,” Solis wrote that “the issue was identified and acknowledged.”
“Our firm takes our obligations of accuracy, candor, and disclosure seriously,” Solis wrote in an email. “We have reviewed and enhanced our internal practices to ensure clarity and reliability in future filings, including citation verification.”
Kenosha County Court’s policy requires anyone filing documents in court to disclose whether they used AI to create or create those documents.
This disclosure must be submitted to the court in a separate document listing details including the name of the specific AI tool or system used, a brief description of how it was used, and a description of “any relevant limitations or potential biases of the AI system.”
The policy also makes clear that it is the applicant’s responsibility to review the work done by the AI.
“Parties making disclosures must certify that they have reviewed and verified the accuracy and appropriateness of the AI-generated content in the submitted documents,” the policy states.
Solis was elected Kenosha County District Attorney in November 2024 with 51 percent of the vote against Carly McNeil, who previously held the number two position in the Kenosha County District Attorney’s office.
At the time of his election, Solis was working as a defense attorney in Kenosha County, but had no experience as a prosecutor.
Solis replaced Democratic District Attorney Mike Gravely, who resigned without seeking another term.
Solis ran as a Republican in a county where Donald Trump was re-elected with 52% of the vote when he won in 2024.
WGTD has reported on understaffing issues within Solis’ department since he took office. Those problems have existed since the beginning of his tenure. By the time Solis was sworn in in January 2025, eight of the office’s 19 assistant districts had resigned, WGTD reported.
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