Courts Fined Lawyers $145K for Fake AI Citations in 90 Days
U.S. courts imposed at least $145,000 in sanctions against lawyers for AI-generated citation errors in Q1 2026 alone. Oregon built a per-infraction tariff at $500 per fake citation and $1,000 per fabricated quote. Meanwhile, a Northwestern survey found 61.6% of federal judges use AI themselves. The judiciary is pricing AI errors in real time, and the framework will reach far beyond the courtroom.