United States v. Burke
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division · M.D. Fla. · Florida bar guidance
Verified April 26, 2026
- Citation
- United States v. Burke, No. 8:24-cr-00068 (M.D. Fla. May 15, 2025)
- Decided
- May 15, 2025
Summary
Defense attorneys Mark D. Rasch and Michael P. Maddux, representing former journalist Timothy Burke in a federal computer-fraud prosecution arising from the release of unaired Fox News footage, filed a motion to dismiss containing nonexistent quotations and misstatements of law generated with the assistance of Westlaw AI features and ChatGPT Pro (GPT-4.5) Deep Research. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle found the brief contained a fabricated quotation attributed to United States v. Ruiz alongside other misrepresented citations. Counsel acknowledged that verified text had been "inadvertently replaced" with unverified portions of earlier AI-assisted drafts.
- AI tool:
- Westlaw (including AI features and Quick Check) and ChatGPT Pro (GPT-4.5) Deep Research
What sanction did the court impose?
The court struck the defective motion to dismiss and granted leave to refile a corrected motion, conditioned on counsel explaining in writing how the unprofessional misrepresentations occurred and what steps they would take to prevent recurrence. No monetary sanction was imposed in the May 15, 2025 order, but the court reserved further action pending counsel's explanation.
Why does United States v. Burke matter for law firms using AI?
Burke is one of the earliest reported orders to identify ChatGPT Pro’s “Deep Research” feature (GPT-4.5) by name as a source of fabricated authority, and it arose despite the lawyers’ parallel use of Westlaw, Westlaw’s AI features, and Westlaw Quick Check. For managing partners, the case underscores that purpose-built legal research platforms do not eliminate the verification duty when their output is combined with general-purpose chatbots, and that draft control, the inadvertent reintroduction of unverified text, is itself a documented failure mode worth addressing in firm AI policy.
Sources
Primary sources
Further reading
Source PDF is a Westlaw printout mirrored from the Damien Charlotin hallucination database. We are working to add the underlying court docket (PACER, CourtListener, or court website) as a second source.