Clayton DA apologizes to chief justice for prosecutor’s use of AI

Assistant District Attorney Deborah Leslie last week admitted to using AI in briefs she filed in the appeal of a high-profile murder case. She also issued an apology.

Credit: Supreme Court of Georgia

Credit: Supreme Court of Georgia

Since then, Mosley said that “strict disciplinary action has been taken” against her prosecutor, who she never mentioned by name. That includes a suspension, a performance plan and a grievance that was filed with the State Bar, Mosley said in her letter.

She also told Peterson her office has changed its policies to address her staff’s use of artificial intelligence.

As for her team, Mosley said her employees are prohibited from breaking the law, being dishonest or engaging in conduct that disgraces the office.

“They must always have respect for the law and honesty, even when mistakes have been made, and must never act in an unprofessional or unethical manner,” Mosley wrote.

During the March 18 oral arguments, however, Mosley said she “watched in dismay as a member of my team violated these ethical standards.”

“Steps are being taken to rebuild the trust and respect of this Honorable Court and all Courts that were breached,” she said.

Leslie was called out by Peterson during oral arguments last month and asked why she’d filed a proposed order filled with phony case law and nonexistent quotations.

Credit: Supreme Court of Georgia

Credit: Supreme Court of Georgia

When asked whether those phantom citations were included in the denial order she prepared for Judge Jewel Scott, Leslie told the chief justice they were not.

“No, your honor. I do not believe so. They were not,” Leslie told him. “I did prepare an order. That order was revised.”

In a signed affidavit submitted to the Georgia Supreme Court last week’s, Leslie acknowledged using AI to conduct what she called “expanded legal research.”

She said she regretted submitting materials that contained “erroneous and fictitious case citations,” and said she would take steps to ensure “nothing of this nature occurs again.”

Mosley did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday about the length of Leslie’s suspension or the specifics of her office’s new AI policy. It’s also unclear whether Leslie will be allowed to remain on the case.

Justices were listening to arguments in the appeal of Hannah Payne, who was convicted of murder and other charges in the 2019 shooting of an unarmed motorist.

Authorities said Payne chased down and killed 62-year-old Kenneth Herring after seeing him hit another vehicle in traffic.

Payne, who was 21 at the time, called 911 before chasing Herring for about a mile and shooting him near the intersection of Riverdale Road and Forest Parkway, authorities said.

Prosecutors said she ignored the instructions of 911 dispatchers who told her to stay at the scene of the initial hit-and-run and not to confront the other driver. She was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to life with parole, plus an additional 13 years.

Payne’s appellate attorneys are seeking a new trial, arguing her first lawyer was ineffective because he failed to contend the shooting might have been justified under Georgia’s old citizens’ arrest law or that Payne was trying to protect other motorists.

In her letter, Mosley said while the post-trial filings did not meet her office’s standards, she still thinks the facts and the law support the conviction.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Payne’s attorney seemed skeptical.

“With respect, how would you know?” Andrew Fleischman said. “You didn’t research any real cases.”