BUZZ
Their lawyer eventually ‘withdrew the citations and wrote an apology letter to the court’
Five pro-Palestinian student activists who sued Barnard College and Columbia University over their suspensions stemming from a protest last year were admonished by a judge for using faux A.I.-generated court cases to support their arguments.
The students’ suit, brought last December, was dismissed on “procedural grounds” early last month due to their lawyer allegedly missing a verification deadline.
But New York Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank also warned the plaintiffs and their lawyer, Sami El Cherif, against using A.I. “in the courtroom,” the Columbia Spectator reports.
In his initial court petition, El Cherif cited a pair of bogus cases, Matter of McCormack v. LaHood and Matter of Ortiz v. Coughlin, which then were flagged by lawyers representing Barnard and Columbia (for example, irrelevant paternity matters were cited in the latter case).
El Sherif subsequently “withdrew the citations and wrote an apology letter to the court,” and apologized again in person during oral arguments.
“Petitioners sincerely regret these errors,” El Cherif wrote. “There was no intent to mislead the Court, and undersigned counsel accepts responsibility for the miscitations.”
Judge Frank said disciplining El Cherif “would not be necessary,” but in part of his ruling titled “A Caution on AI Hallucinations” he wrote “Given the recent explosive reach of AI in the legal field, it is incumbent on every party communicating with a court, but especially incumbent on attorneys, to ensure that any output generated by AI is verified and accurate.”
The 2025 pro-Palestinian protest that began this whole imbroglio involved an occupation of Columbia’s Butler Library by mask- and keffiyeh-wearing students, during which 78 ended up being arrested. The activists hung banners “renaming” the library “Basel Al-Araj Popular University.”
That July, the University Judicial Board issued suspensions, expulsions, and degree revocations to over 70 of the activists. El Cherif’s clients filed suit challenging their suspensions in December after their last appeals were denied.
And the activists aren’t done yet; earlier this month El Cherif noted they’re are appealing Judge Frank’s dismissal.
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