United States v. McGee

United States v. Glennie Antonio McGee, No. 1:24-cr-00112-TFM-N, S.D. Ala., Memorandum Opinion and Order on Sanctions (Document 653) filed October 10, 2025. Copy of primary document: `files/sources/D-95-usa-v-mcgee.pdf`.

Attorney James A. Johnson, counsel for defendant Glennie McGee, admitted that he used "Ghostwriter," an AI program that appeared in the sidebar of Microsoft Word, to draft a motion. The motion contained fabricated citations bearing the hallmarks of AI hallucinations, which Johnson failed to check before filing. The court found his conduct tantamount to bad faith.

The court sanctioned Johnson under its inherent authority: a public reprimand with extensive publication requirements (file the order in every pending case where he has appeared, in every case for 12 months going forward, and with every licensing jurisdiction within two business days; the clerk sends it to the General Counsel of the Alabama State Bar and the chief judges of the Northern and Middle Districts of Alabama, and submits it for publication in the Federal Supplement); referral to the Southern District of Alabama's advisory panel to consider removing him from the CJA panel; and a $5,000 fine payable to the CJA fund.

R3, Half-Owned It (opposing counsel flagged the filing before any court action; a sworn declaration apologized and admitted using Ghostwriter Legal without verifying; at the hearing he accepted responsibility; his written response argued the conduct was negligent, not reckless or bad faith, and that he did not know the tool could fabricate citations; the court rejected that as "a distinction without a difference"; no completed remediation is recorded; the order makes a bad-faith finding and states no candor discount).

Do not use sidebar AI writing tools for legal drafting without treating every output as a first draft that must be fully cite-checked. Verify every cited authority exists and supports the stated proposition before filing. Heed the many published warnings about AI hallucination; widespread publicity of the risk makes unverified reliance inexcusable.