The New Mexico Supreme Court has held attorney Stephen Aarons in direct contempt of court for submitting a legal brief containing fabricated testimony and inaccurate legal precedents. In August 2025, Aarons utilized OpenAI’s o3 model to summarize a murder trial transcript, along with discovery documents and the record proper, to assist in an appeal for client Oscar Renee Sandoval. This process resulted in the inclusion of entirely non-existent testimony from witnesses such as Officer Michelle Amarillo, Officer Sanchez, Manal Al-Jibury, and Teresa Marquez, as well as false claims regarding threats from individuals named Danny and Linda Stanton. Additionally, the brief mischaracterized existing legal authorities. Aarons admitted he failed to verify the AI-generated content before filing and did not disclose these errors to his client. Consequently, the court barred Aarons from appearing before the state Supreme Court pending a disciplinary investigation, ordered a $5,000 fine to be paid to the State Bar of New Mexico Client Protection Fund, and struck the defective briefs from the record. The court also directed the public defender's office to appoint new counsel for the defendant to ensure the appeal proceeds in the 2026-27 term.