Judges withdraw orders after lawyers question accuracy

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By Sara Merken

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REUTERS/Chip East/File Photo

Federal judges in Mississippi and New Jersey have withdrawn written rulings in a pair of unrelated lawsuits after lawyers in the cases said they contained factual inaccuracies and other serious errors. 

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate in Mississippi on July 23 replaced an order after lawyers for the state said in a court filing that it contained "incorrect plaintiffs and defendants" and included allegations that were not in the complaint. On the same day in New Jersey, U.S. District Judge Julien Neals withdrew a ruling after defense attorneys told the court that the decision made factual errors and included quotes that the lawyers said were not in the cited cases.

A person familiar with the circumstances in the New Jersey case said research produced using artificial intelligence was included in a draft decision that was inadvertently placed on the public docket before a review process. A temporary assistant had prepared the research, the person said, adding that the court's chambers has a strict policy against the unauthorized use of AI to support opinions. 

In both cases, the judges did not say in court filings how the apparent errors were included in their decisions. The lawyers, when they brought the issues to the judges' attention, did not mention AI or other possible causes for the alleged inaccuracies. 

Senior officials in the New Jersey and Mississippi courts and the lawyers in the cases who notified the judges about the errors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Read more from Mike Scarcella.

A bus belonging to the Think Outside Da Block gun violence prevention program sits parked outside of the organization's office, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska

The Trump administration has terminated more than half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention programs in the U.S., cutting $158 million in grants that had been directed to groups in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, D.C. and Baltimore.

Of the 145 community violence intervention grants totaling more than $300 million awarded through the DOJ, 69 grants were abruptly terminated in April, according to government data analyzed by Reuters. Read more from Bianca Flowers.

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sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

@saramerken

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