This is what happens when you trust the machine more than your own job title.
A lawyer in the Canary Islands has been fined €420 after submitting an appeal backed up by 48 completely fictitious Supreme Court rulings.
All generated by AI.
Not one of them real.
A Simple Check Would Have Done
The appeal was filed with the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands, challenging a previous criminal ruling.
To strengthen his argument, the lawyer included dozens of references to Supreme Court decisions and even a report from the General Council of the Judiciary.
There was just one issue.
They didn’t exist.
The court’s documentation team checked the references. No matches. No records. No trace.
And what really caught the judges’ attention was this:
He hadn’t verified a single one.
Not through official databases.
Not through CENDOJ, which is public and free.
Not even a quick manual search.
That’s not a technology failure.
That’s a professional one.
The Fine Wasn’t Random
The court fined him €420.
But they didn’t just pluck that number out of the air.
They said it was roughly half the annual cost of a specialist legal AI subscription. In other words, had he used a proper legal tool and supervised it correctly, this probably wouldn’t have happened.
It’s a polite judicial way of saying, “Do your job properly.”
They’ve also referred the matter to the Bar Association to consider disciplinary action.
That’s the part that stings.
AI Isn’t the Villain
The court actually made something very sensible clear.
They don’t dismiss AI. They recognise it has value.
But human supervision must be the backbone of any professional use.
AI is support.
It is not judgement.
It is not verification.
It is not responsibility.
That still sits with the person signing the document.
There’s a Lesson Here
I see the same pattern in property all the time.
People send me:
- Automated valuations from online tools
- AI summaries of Spanish property law
- Chat-generated “advice” on taxes
- Forum screenshots presented as fact
And they ask if it’s accurate.
Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn’t. Often it’s half right, which is more dangerous.
Technology can save time.
But if you stop thinking because a screen gave you a confident answer, you’re asking for trouble.
In this case, it cost €420 and a referral to the Bar.
In property, it could cost you tens of thousands.
Use the tools. Absolutely.
Just don’t outsource your brain to them.
