Source: Jamaica Gleaner

Jamaica Gleaner reports that a High Court judge in Trinidad and Tobago has condemned the use of artificial intelligence-generated legal authorities by lawyers in a lawsuit, describing it as a serious breach of professional ethics. Justice Westmin James stated that irresponsible use of internet sources or generative AI tools undermines individual cases and the credibility of the legal system. The judge referred two attorneys to the Disciplinary Committee of the Law Association for submitting fictitious or unverifiable legal authorities, which were central to their client's argument. The cited cases lacked proper citations and bore inconsistencies with valid Industrial Court decisions. The attorneys claimed the cases were retrieved from an online source that was no longer accessible, an explanation the judge found unsatisfactory. The incident underscores the ethical obligations of attorneys to ensure all materials submitted to the court are authentic and reliable.