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Senior CPS prosecutor cites a case that does not exist after an AI search in High Court child rape hearing

The CPS admitted a second AI hallucination failure inside a year, after already concluding in February that "the risk of recurrence was low.
The CPS admitted a second AI hallucination failure inside a year, after already concluding in February that "the risk of recurrence was low.

Ravinder Dhillon, a senior crown prosecutor in the CPS rape and serious sexual offences unit, submitted a detailed reference to a ruling styled CPS – R v J [2024] EWCA Crim 3529 — a decision that does not exist. The fabricated citation appeared in written submissions during a judicial review considering whether to charge a boy who was 11 years old when he allegedly raped his seven-year-old sister. Lord Justice Holgate and Mr Justice Wall described her explanation of the mistake as 'unsatisfactory'.

Dhillon said she had meant to cite a genuine House of Lords decision from 2009, R v JTB — a judgment handed down 14 years before the case she invented.

An AI and law specialist called it 'a serious failure'; a UK register tracking AI-related court errors has now reached 101 confirmed, likely or disputed entries.

The CPS has acknowledged a second instance of a prosecutor citing non-existent authorities before a court — the first arose in an extradition appeal in February, where a hallucinated case was similarly produced.

MoreThe TelegraphProsecutor cites fake case in court after using AI - The Telegraphua.newsCPS prosecutor cited non-existent precedent in High CourtDaily Mail NewsSenior CPS prosecutor accidentally references non-existent case after using AI during child rape High Court hearingThe Guardian‘A serious failure’: CPS prosecutor cites imaginary case to high court after AI searchwww.techtimes.co.ukA UK Prosecutor Used AI To Find a Court Case That Didn't Exist, Raising Fears Over Legal Accuracy - www.techtimes.co.uk
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