Even though ChatGPT has some pretty clear disclaimers about factual accuracy, two New York City attorneys and their law firm gained a lot of public attention for claiming that the bogus cases cited in their federal court filing were the result of (wrongly) using ChatGPT as a legal-research database. Federal District Court Judge P. Kevin…
Tag: Lori Shemka
When judges add descriptive footnotes (and an itemized appendix) as they “write” about “inserted images,” they preserve the judicial-decision tapestry.
Why? Because many third-party-online publishers leave images out from the original decision. Imagine footnotes like these being dropped into a judicial decision: [Proposed new footnote:] To help future readers who may read this decision in a third-party, text-only format that left out the image, Figure 1 is a black-and-white portrait photograph of Prince taken in…
Using ChatGPT for interpreting text message emojis, slang, and abbreviations
Footnotes 7–13 in a recent Intermediate Court of Appeals of Hawaii unpublished opinion defined quoted text message emojis, slang, and abbreviations: 7 The text messages are quoted verbatim with footnotes throughout to clarify terms, abbreviations, and symbols used, as may be necessary. 8 “Sup” is an “informal greeting equivalent to ‘What’s up?’” Sup, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sup…
I’ll pass on asking ChatGPT to reliably “summarize” court opinions
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently issued an interesting published opinion about two siblings charged with truancy, their right to counsel, and whether they waived that right in the trial court. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Elizabeth Gleicher wrote the lead opinion. She also penned a separate concurring opinion. Judge Thomas Cameron also wrote a…
Emoji “translator” needed? Ask Bard (Google), Bing (Microsoft), and ChatGPT (OpenAI)
Cher is known for heavy emoji Tweets. And emojis often find their way into court cases. Ever wonder what a series of emojis may mean? Perhaps someone texted you: 🐰🥚🐣💐🌷🌹🌸🌼🌺🌻🌷💐🌹🌸🌼🌺🌻 Or perhaps you are reviewing law-enforcement produced or civil discovery (or a record on appeal) and come across a message string like this: 🔫🔪🩸😈🤵💵⛓️💀 What…
Comparing and seeing ChatGPT as a valuable plain-language editor for legal writing
Imagine a one-page “notice to leave” taped to a house. Within the notice, the tenant is told: Your compliance with this NOTICE within _ days after its service will prevent any further eviction action against you. YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO LEAVE THE PREMISES. IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE, AN EVICTION ACTION MAY BE INITIATED…
Print disabilities: visual examples
Millions in the United States have impaired vision because of uncorrected refractive error, and many suffer vision impairment even after correction. A great many people cannot read small font or “the fine print.” Fantastic (but worrisome) examples of how those with different visual-related print disabilities struggle with print text are included in this informative, one-hour…
A strong model for “translating” image Tweets and emojis into text-based legal writing
Federal District Court Judge William L. Campbell, Jr. (Middle District, Tennessee) just issued a written opinion that effectively models how to translate Tweet and emoji images into understandable text-based legal writing. The Complaint’s Exhibit B image was the original product the judge had to work with. The imaged Tweet and its content were important for…
Process design and implementation that works can take a lot of testing. And that’s okay. Ask Chick-fil-A.
The Washington Post’s recent Chick-fil-A put actual cauliflower on a sandwich—and it’s good caught my curiosity and I’m glad I stuck with it for the full read. One doesn’t have to be a fan of Chick-fil-A to appreciate the article. (Full disclosure: I’ve never tried one because the lines near mine are always crazy long…
Want emailed case-specific notifications about future orders/opinions entered in a pending Michigan Court of Appeals or Michigan Supreme Court case? Create a Google Scholar alert.
The “create alert” feature within Google Scholar’s Case law search tool is an easy way for the public to receive emailed notifications for when the Michigan Court of Appeals or Michigan Supreme Court issues new orders or opinions on specific cases. To use it, you need to have a free Google account (a gmail address)…