Fed. R. App. P. 38 – Paul Mollica's Federal Courts Blog

Seventh Circuit Lets Pro Se Litigant Off with a Warning About AI Hallucinations in His Brief

In Jones v Kankakee Cnty. Sheriff’s Dep’t, No 25-1251 (7th Cir. Jan. 21, 2026), the Seventh Circuit issues a timely reminder that, however useful generative AI may be, it is still not an automatic brief-writing machine. “Jones filed a sprawling lawsuit in November 2023, invoking 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and alleging that several municipal andContinue reading “Seventh Circuit Lets Pro Se Litigant Off with a Warning About AI Hallucinations in His Brief”

Third Circuit Sanctions Lawyer for Bad Cut-and-Paste Job

In Conboy v. United States Small Business Admin., No. 20-1726 (3d Cir. Mar. 19, 2021), the Third Circuit issues a Fed. R. App. P. 38 sanction against a lawyer whose appellate brief “was essentially a copy of the one he filed in the District Court.” To underscore the point, the panel attaches a red-lined copyContinue reading “Third Circuit Sanctions Lawyer for Bad Cut-and-Paste Job”