Incident Tracker / United States (federal)
Dehghani v. Castro, No. 2:25-cv-00052-MIS-DLM (D.N.M.)
·US District Court, District of New Mexico·US-FEDSanctions
In the US District Court for the District of New Mexico, Magistrate Judge Damian L. Martinez sanctioned attorney Felipe D.J. Millan $1,500 under Rule 11 for filing a brief, bought from a LAWCLERK freelancer, citing six non-existent cases; he was also ordered to self-report to the New Mexico and Texas bars. District Judge Strickland affirmed on 9 May 2025.
- Court
- US District Court, District of New Mexico
- Date
- 2025-04-02
- Who used the AI
- Lawyer
- AI tool
- Not identified in the record
- Conduct
- Immigration attorney Felipe D.J. Millan filed a habeas response brief he had purchased for $750 from freelance attorney Janelle M. Lewis via LAWCLERK without reading or verifying it; it cited at least six non-existent cases, which the court said were likely AI hallucinations. Magistrate Judge Damian L. Martinez found a Rule 11(b)(2) violation; District Judge Margaret Strickland affirmed on 9 May 2025.
- Outcome
- Sanctions
- Penalty
- US$1,500
- Regulatory outcome
- New Mexico and Texas state bar disciplinary boards (self-report ordered); Lewis reported to New York state bar: Court ordered self-report with copy of order; bar dispositions not confirmed (2025-04-02)
- Status
- Verified against listed sources
- Last checked
- 2026-09-04
Primary sources for this incident
Related regulation records for this incident
No related regulation record has been linked to this incident yet.
Cite this record
SafeLegalAI Global Legal AI Incident Tracker, “Dehghani v. Castro, No. 2:25-cv-00052-MIS-DLM (D.N.M.)”, safelegalai.com/tracker/dehghani-v-castro (accessed 2026-09-05). Data: CC BY 4.0.