Sixth Circuit Sanctioned Lawyers in Whiting v. City of Athens over Alleged Fake Appellate Citations in Briefs Reportedly Bearing Hallmarks of Hallucinations
- Date of incident
- March 13, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- US
- Sources
- 3 cited
- Last verified
- May 21, 2026
Summary
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit sanctioned attorneys Van Irion and Russ Egli after reportedly finding more than two dozen fake citations and alleged factual misrepresentations in appellate briefs in Whiting v. City of Athens. The court asked whether generative AI had been used, but the attorneys reportedly did not answer that question. Public reporting described the filings as bearing hallmarks of AI hallucinations.
What is reported
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit sanctioned attorneys Van Irion and Russ Egli after reportedly finding more than two dozen fake citations and alleged factual misrepresentations in appellate briefs in Whiting v. City of Athens. The court asked whether generative AI had been used, but the attorneys reportedly did not answer that question. Public reporting described the filings as bearing hallmarks of AI hallucinations.
Editorial note
Two primary sources (Reuters, NatLawReview) triangulate $15K-each / $30K-total. Sixth Circuit on record.
Sources
This record summarizes the cited reports. See the sources panel for the underlying URLs and archive copies.
Sources
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