In re the Marriage of Monson

What the court wrote

Verbatim from the court's document (public domain). Ellipses mark omitted text; nothing is paraphrased.

During our review of Caroline’s appellate briefing, we discovered that she repeatedly cited an Iowa case that does not exist. And she cited other cases and statutes that do exist but do not stand for the propositions for which she cited them. It thus appears likely that she misused an artificial intelligence tool when preparing her briefs. We recognize that Caroline is representing herself. “But we do not have a double standard for those represented by counsel and those who are unrepresented—we expect all to follow our procedures.” Locher & Davis, PLC v. Ruth F. Woller Revocable Tr., No. 23-0944, 2024 WL 4761531, at *4 (Iowa Ct. App. Nov. 13, 2024). And we have repeatedly “stress[ed] that self- represented litigants and attorneys alike have a duty to independently verify the authenticity and veracity of all sources and assertions when relying on artificial intelligence tools to prepare trial or appellate court filings.” Luke v. Iowa Dep’t of Health & Hum. Servs., 29 N.W.3d 635, 636 (Iowa Ct. App. 2025); see also Nisland Asset Inv., LLC v. Gericke, No. 25-0659, 2026 WL 1162553, at *1 (Iowa Ct. App. Apr. 29, 2026); In re W.G., No. 25-1916, 11 2026 WL 892837, at *2–3 (Iowa Ct. App. Apr. 1, 2026); Goma v. Hundley, No. 25-0619, 2026 WL 892643, at *8 (Iowa Ct. App. Apr. 1, 2026); In re R.A., 24-1629, 2025 WL 2793560, at *2–4 (Iowa Ct. App. Oct. 1, 2025). Submitting inaccurate appellate filings wastes party and judicial resources, hinders the filer’s ability to successfully advocate, and ultimately slows down the process of resolving the appeal.

Authorities cited in the passage: Luke v. Iowa Dep’t of Health & Human Services, 29 N.W.3d 635 (Iowa Ct. App. 2025) · Locher & Davis, PLC v. Ruth F. Woller Revocable Trust, 2024 WL 4761531 (Iowa Ct. App. Nov. 13, 2024)