Exclusive: Nonexistent precedent cited in alleged child rape case adds to dozens of AI-related errors plaguing court proceedings

A senior crown prosecutor acting in a high court case cited an imaginary legal precedent in an error that has sparked fresh concerns about AI hallucinations infecting the justice system.

Ravinder Dhillon, representing the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), referenced an entirely made-up case during a dispute over whether a child should be prosecuted for the rape of his younger sister, court documents have revealed.

Her explanation for how the nonexistent case came to be relied on has been called “unsatisfactory” by two senior high court judges and a “serious failure” by an expert in AI and law. The Guardian understands the reference came from an AI response generated during an internet search.

The case adds to dozens of others where AI-related errors have plagued court proceedings this year, mostly from people who are not legally qualified representing themselves, and often in employment tribunal cases.

It is only the second known case involving the CPS – the main public agency bringing criminal prosecutions in England and Wales – which admitted in February that one of its lawyers acting in an extradition case involving two Romanians convicted of minor offences cited nonexistent legal authorities, likely caused by AI. Those made-up cases were only spotted when opposition lawyers could find no trace of them and the CPS concluded “the risk of recurrence was low”.

In the latest case, lawyers for the boy, who was 11 at the time of the alleged rape of his seven-year-old sister, were challenging the CPS’s decision to prosecute him.

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