A courtroom in New York turned tense on March 26 when a panel of judges from the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division's First Judicial Department discovered that an individual representing a case was not a licensed attorney—but an AI-generated avatar, as reported by Fox News.

The incident occurred during an employment dispute involving Jerome Dewald, who appeared before the court as a plaintiff. Instead of addressing the court in person or through legal counsel, Dewald submitted a video presentation.

AI-generated attorney outrages judge who scolds man over courtroom fake: ‘not a real person’ https://t.co/iy7TMyXAq6

— Fox News AI (@FoxNewsAI) April 9, 2025

"The appellant has submitted a video for his argument," said Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels. "We will hear that video now."

As the video played, it showed a well-dressed man seated in what appeared to be a home office. The man opened the argument by stating:

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"May it please the court, I come here today a humble pro se before a panel of five distinguished justices."

Justice Manzanet-Daniels quickly interrupted the video.

"Hold on. Is that counsel for the case?"

Dewald then admitted the man was not a licensed attorney and that he had created the video himself using artificial intelligence.

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"I generated that. That’s not a real person."

Manzanet-Daniels expressed clear frustration with Dewald’s decision and the lack of disclosure prior to the court session.

"It would have been nice to know that when you made your application. You did not tell me that, sir."

Following the hearing, Dewald submitted a letter of apology to the court. He explained that he did not have legal representation and did not intend any harm.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Dewald said:

"The court was really upset about it. They chewed me up pretty good."

According to Dewald, he had initially asked the court for permission to submit a prerecorded video. He said he originally considered using an avatar that resembled himself but ended up using a program developed by a San Francisco-based technology company.

This is not the first instance where artificial intelligence has created complications in legal proceedings.

In a separate case last year, two New York attorneys were fined $5,000 each after citing non-existent cases that had been fabricated by ChatGPT during legal research.

Additionally, lawyers representing Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney for President Donald Trump, were found to have cited fake legal rulings.

Cohen later accepted responsibility and said he was unaware the AI tool used by his legal team could produce such errors, which are commonly referred to as "hallucinations."

Fox News Digital reported that Dewald did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.

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