MyPillow Lawyers Sanctioned for AI-Generated Brief With Fabricated Case Citations
Mike Lindell's defense attorneys Christopher Kachouroff and Jennifer DeMaster were sanctioned with $3,000 fines each after filing a court motion containing approximately 30 defective or fabricated case citations generated by an AI system. Kachouroff admitted he ran the motion through AI without verifying the citations, and Judge Nina Y. Wang found the errors during a pretrial conference more than 55 days after filing.
What happened
Christopher Kachouroff filed an opposition motion in Lindell's defamation case on February 25, 2025, containing approximately 30 defective or nonexistent case citations. Kachouroff admitted that he had drafted an outline, written a motion, and then run it through AI without personally verifying the citations.
Judge Nina Y. Wang discovered the citation errors during a pretrial conference more than 55 days after the filing. Kachouroff claimed the document was an earlier draft submitted by mistake due to human error, though the supposedly final version also contained substantive errors.
Reported impact
Judge Wang sanctioned Kachouroff and Jennifer DeMaster, ordering each to pay $3,000 for violating court rules by filing a motion with AI-generated fabricated citations. The court ordered the attorneys to show cause why they should not face additional sanctions and be referred for disciplinary action.
Index analysis
The AI system generated citations to cases that do not exist and misquotes of real cases. Kachouroff stated he did not personally check the citations after the AI processing and accepted responsibility for the failure to verify.
Governance controls
The court's ruling highlighted the need for the legal profession to establish AI competency standards and proper verification protocols. Kachouroff's legal team asserted in filings that 'there is nothing wrong with using AI when properly used,' acknowledging that attorneys must verify citations generated by the system.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.