It’s not uncommon to find a citation with errors or a typo in legal writing. The mistakes are typically small, such as the misspelling of a name or a mistyped number. 

However, if you cannot locate any information about a case, it’s possible that the citation was "hallucinated" by an artificial intelligence (AI) program.

What are AI "hallucinations?"

Generative AI programs like ChatGPT can "hallucinate" or create false answers that look real. They might give what seem like valid, correct case law citations, but these cases may not actually exist.

A news article from Reuters discusses AI hallucinations in court filings. It explains how AI programs generate responses based on patterns in large datasets rather than verifying specific facts.

How can I be sure?

If you decide to use AI tools for legal research, you should verify any case citations they provide. You can do this by trying a few different search terms in a case law database to see if you find a match.

You can start your search by entering the case name by itself (for example, Harris v. Hankins) or the full citation without the parties' names (for example, 500 S.W.3d 140).

Our Case Law Research guide explains how to read a case law citation.

If you find the case among the results, you can verify that the information matches. You may also want to read the summary or "abstract" to ensure the topic of the case is correct.

Safe & Responsible Legal Research

Because AI chat programs can provide unreliable answers, we strongly caution against relying solely on these tools for your legal research. They can be helpful, but you should always confirm any citations they provide. The library offers many resources you can use for accurate legal research.

Popular case law databases include Westlaw, Lexis, and Fastcase. Texas residents can access Fastcase with a free library account. To use Westlaw and Lexis, visit our library in person or ask a librarian for help. You may also have a law library near you.

Print case law reporters like the South Western Reporter or Texas Cases are useful, too. You can see which case is printed at the specific volume and page number included in your citation.

If you know which court heard the case, another option is to contact the court clerk’s office for court records. Our guide to finding court records can help you get started.

 Related Guides

• Case Law Research
• Court Records
• Using Fastcase