2025-10-23 23:18:44
Federal judge mulls sanctions against attorney for AI use in Kluwe defamation case
A federal judge questioned attorney William J. Becker Jr. about sanctions for misusing AI in legal briefs, rejecting monetary penalties and calling it "unacceptable" to cite non-existent cases. Becker apologized for the mistake but faced criticism from Chris Kluwe's attorney Daniel Sasse, who pointed out 22 incorrect citations. The judge also heard arguments on dismissing a defamation lawsuit against writer Chris Epting by former NFL player Chris Kluwe, with discussions围绕着克里斯·克鲁夫被解雇的原因及其言论自由权的保护展开。法官表示将在后续时间发布裁决。
A federal judge Thursday asked an attorney defending writer Chris Epting in a defamation lawsuit filed by former NFL punter and Huntington Beach resident Chris Kluwe what sanctions he thinks he deserves for misusing artificial intelligence in legal briefs.
âI donât believe monetary sanctions are appropriate,â attorney William J. Becker Jr. told U.S. District Judge Fred Slaughter during a hearing in Santa Ana.
âSo zero is the answer?â Slaughter replied.
âZero is the answer,â Becker said.
Becker argued that the âhumiliationâ alone in being admonished for the misstep was punishment enough.
Slaughter said it was âunacceptableâ to submit court briefs with fictitious cases for arguments on precedent.
âThereâs no excuse for this,â Slaughter said.
Becker apologized for the misstep, saying he was âfairly ashamed by itâ and blaming the error on a lack of resources for his nonprofit Freedom X Law.
âI failed my client,â he said. âI stand before you filled with humility.â
He said the work he submitted was âall done in haste,â because, âI have zero resources. [And] in this case, Iâm up against a big, big law firm.â
Slaughter called AI a game of telephone, saying it was incumbent on attorneys to double check anything the tool yields with the original sources. The judge said he does not use artificial intelligence, adding, âI rely on meâ and his personal research of the various laws and legal books as reference.
Daniel Sasse, an attorney for Kluwe, said Becker submitted legal briefs citing âthree cases that didnât exist at all,â indicating Becker did not check the work produced by the artificial intelligence at all. Sasse counted 22 examples of incorrect citations to legal precedence.
Slaughter also heard arguments from attorney Mark Bresee of the Huntington Beach Union High School District on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, citing legal immunity.
Chris Kluwe was arrested at a Huntington Beach City Council meeting in February when he protested the councilâs intention to create a MAGA plaque for the library.
(Courtesy of Protect Huntington Beach video )
Sasse argued Kluwe was fired from his job as a coach at Edison High School following criticism from Epting and others on social media regarding Kluweâs civil disobedience arrest at a Huntington Beach City Council meeting in February, where he protested a plaque at the city library that proclaimed âMake America Great Again.â
School officials cited a civility policy that Kluwe âhad never seen,â Sasse said.
Kluweâs attorney said even though Kluwe was an at-will employee, he still had 1st Amendment rights.
Bresee said the schoolâs policy was one âyouâll see all over the state.â
âIt appears the plaintiff has a long history of activism for civil rights issues for years,â Slaughter said of Kluweâs speaking out, dating back to his public support of legalizing same-sex marriage in 2012. And yet Edison officials did not discipline or fire him before this year, the judge noted.
Sasse said his client was told he was being fired because of the positions he was taking against Huntington Beach decisions.
Epting is accused in the defamation suit of framing a social media post of the former punterâs as espousing violence, which Kluwe denied.
Bresee said the fact that Kluwe was never fired before due to his activism would show that he was discriminated against this year for exercising his free speech rights.
Bresee also argued Kluwe was the one who went public with the reasons for his termination, so he canât make a liberty interest claim now.
Sasse argued Kluwe reposted Eptingâs comments to make the case his statement was âfalse and defamatory.â
Slaughter said he would issue ruling at a later time.