On multiple occasions, in multiple filings and hearings, and in response to multiple questions and orders, Mr. Watkins has intentionally misled the court. Rather than taking responsibility for his actions, Mr. Watkins has feigned contrition, obfuscated the truth, changed his stories when it suits him, and attempted to blame others for his own professional misconduct. [...] The court finds that the following sanctions are necessary to rectify the misconduct here and vindicate judicial authority: (1) temporary suspension of Mr. [...]
Every other fabricated-citation case here is a finding of carelessness: somebody did not check. This one is a finding that the lawyer lied about it afterwards, and it is why the order runs to 162 pages. Joshua Watkins used ChatGPT and filed a brief with a case that does not exist and quotations that appear nowhere in the decisions they were attributed to. Decided 31 March 2026. The reprimand is published in the Federal Supplement, a copy of the order is served within ten days on every client, opposing counsel and presiding judge in every case he or his firm is in, and the fees come to 47,056.90 US dollars. It is worth reading beside the Sullivan and Cromwell letter on this page, which is the other end of the same situation: the difference between the two outcomes is almost entirely what each of them did on the day they were caught.
Judge Anna M. Manasco, US District Court, Northern District of Alabama, in CourtListener