Supreme Court vacates Hannah Payne ruling tied to AI errors

article

Hannah Payne breaks down crying after being found guilty on all counts in the death 62-year-old Kenneth Herring in a Clayton County courtroom on Dec. 12, 2023. (FOX 5)

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - The Supreme Court of Georgia is sending the Hannah Payne case back to a lower court after finding major problems with how legal filings were handled.

Payne is serving a life sentence plus additional time after being convicted in a 2019 murder tied to a hit-and-run.

What we know:

According to the court, filings from a Clayton County prosecutor included several legal citations that either didn’t exist or didn’t actually support the arguments being made.

The prosecutor later admitted she used artificial intelligence to help draft the documents and didn’t double-check the citations before submitting them.

What they're saying:

Justices said those mistakes are a big deal, pointing out they had to spend time sorting through the errors instead of focusing on the actual appeal.

Because of that, the court threw out the earlier decision that denied Payne a new trial and ordered the trial court to take another look — this time without relying on any flawed or questionable citations.

The prosecutor involved is now facing consequences, including a six-month suspension from practicing before the state’s highest court and required training on ethics and the proper use of AI.

The court also called out the district attorney’s office for not catching the errors, although two justices said they didn’t agree with criticizing the elected district attorney specifically.