New Mexico Supreme Court holds lawyer Stephen Aarons in contempt over AI-faked brief

Stephen Aarons was hired by the family of Oscar Renee Sandoval, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in February 2025. In August 2025, Aarons filed an appeal brief that contained fabricated witness testimony and inaccurately described real legal precedents. The state filed a motion to strike weeks later, and the case reached the New Mexico Supreme Court.

At an August 21 hearing, Aarons told the justices he had fed a computer-generated transcript of the trial, along with other documents, into ChatGPT, and the AI produced fake quotes. He said he assumed the tool generated a bulletproof summary and did not verify the claims before signing. Justice C. Shannon Bacon described the violations as at least eight or nine provisions of the code of conduct, saying either he buried his head in the sand or took a gamble. Chief Justice Julie Vargas focused on the impact on the client, who remains in custody while the appeal proceeds.

Aarons is barred from appearing before the state Supreme Court and fined $5,000, but the disciplinary board may impose more. He asked the court to consider a standing order requiring AI compliance certificates in briefs, but the justices treated that as a distraction from his failure to verify the brief. The underlying appeal will proceed in the court's 2026-27 term with a new lawyer appointed by the public defender office.