Court of Appeal absolves mother of intent to mislead court after mother cited 'wrong' authority in Family Court case.
The mother, who was represented at the hearing, presented a “long” skeletal argument, citing authorities, some of which were non-existent and others irrelevant. An earlier document in which the mother gave reasons why the district judge in her case should dismiss her case included a citation that was “completely non-existent.” In the appeals court, the mother “admitted that she had used artificial intelligence to assist in the preparation of the document.”
Judge Baker, who was joined by Judges Cobb and Miles, expressed sympathy for the direct litigants, saying it was “totally understandable” that LiP would seek help from AI. But all parties, whether represented or not, “have an obligation to the court to ensure that the cases cited in the legal argument are genuine and to lend authority to the proposals put forward,” he said.
in D (child) (not attending school)the judge said, “I do not condone any intention on the part of the mother to mislead the court.” Litigants are in a difficult position to raise legal arguments.
“Used properly and responsibly, artificial intelligence can assist litigants and lawyers in preparing cases. However, it is not an authoritative or definitive body of legal knowledge. There are increasing reports of 'illusions' influencing legal discussions, by citing case law for propositions that are not authoritative, or in some cases, case law that does not exist at all.
“At worst, this could mislead the other party or the court. In either case, it would take extra time and cost to collate and correct the error.”
The judgment dealt with three appeals arising from applications for child arrangements and other orders and a father's appeal against a district judge's decision to resign. The ruling noted that “the process by which the district judge recused himself was irregular,” and concluded that “there was nothing in the text of the decision or in the record of evidence to support the mother's claims of clear bias.”
