Share and Follow
Hannah Payne during her sentencing hearing on Dec. 15, 2023 (Law&Crime).
Chaos erupted in a Georgia courtroom on Wednesday when AI-generated errors in the state’s legal documents threatened to disrupt an appeal hearing. The case involved a woman convicted of murder in a botched citizen’s arrest.
In December 2023, 25-year-old Hannah Payne was found guilty on two counts of felony murder, three counts of weapon possession during a crime, and one count each of malice murder, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment. These charges stemmed from the May 2019 incident that resulted in the death of 62-year-old Kenneth Herring.
Payne received a life sentence, with the possibility of parole after serving a minimum of 43 years.
Following her conviction, Payne swiftly filed an appeal, alleging that her legal representation was inadequate. Her request for a new trial was denied in late summer 2025, leading her case to the Georgia Supreme Court this week.
During the proceedings, a justice pointed out that some elements in the legal filings from the lower court lacked proper legal foundation, raising concerns about the integrity of the documents.
“In reviewing the trial court’s order denying the motion for new trial, there are at least five citations to cases that don’t exist, and there’s at least five more citations to cases that do not support the proposition for which they’re cited, including three quotations that don’t exist,” Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson said.
An attorney for the state denied knowledge of the fabricated citations.
“I did prepare an order, that order was revised,” Deborah Leslie, representing the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office, said.
This answer received a quick riposte.
“Those nonexistent cases were cited in your initial brief opposing the motion for new trial,” the justice told the prosecutor.
To which Leslie replied: “Your Honor, I’m not aware of that, but I would be glad to research and provide the court with a supplement.”
Court TV obtained copies of the initial 37-page proposed order prepared by the state — as well as the eventual 33-page order denying Payne a new trial issued by Clayton County Superior Court Judge Jewel C. Scott.
A review of both orders by Law&Crime shows the exact same number of citations were used in each document.
During oral arguments, an attorney representing Payne apologized for not catching the multiple apparent errors in the orders.
“I’m sorry I didn’t catch it,” appellate lawyer Andrew Fleischman said. “I sometimes don’t read all the cases cited in my opponent’s brief, and this was an instance where I didn’t do that. I regret that I did not bring this to the court’s attention. I am sorry about it.”
The heart of the appeal is the notion that Payne’s trial attorney offered constitutionally deficient counsel because he did not try to assert either a defense of others or citizen’s arrest basis in service of her broader self-defense claim.
In the aftermath of a collision involving multiple vehicles, Payne confronted Herring. And while taking the stand in her own defense, she admittedly never drew her weapon before the day in question. But Payne insisted she never meant for her brandished handgun to even fire a bullet during the resulting altercation. Rather, she said, the deceased man shot himself during the ensuing struggle for her weapon.
“The defense that he chose is basically inapplicable,” Fleischman said of the way Payne’s trial counsel framed the self-defense argument.
The state, for its part, claims the two unused defenses were not supported by the evidence and therefore the lack of instruction was proper.
But while drama was high over the fake quotations issue, the justices on the highest appeals court in the Peach State gave no indication the kerfuffle would necessarily inure to Payne’s benefit.
As proceedings drew to a close, the court said it would take all the arguments into consideration. The state supreme court offered no indication when a decision would be issued.