In the world of legal tech gone wild, we’ve got a story that’ll make you laugh, cringe, and question everything you know about courtroom drama.

Imagine rolling up to a New York appeals court with an AI avatar as your legal representation. Sounds like a Silicon Valley fever dream, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened when Jerome Dewald decided to let artificial intelligence do the talking.

When AI Meets Legal Eagle

Dewald, apparently tired of his own “mumbling and stumbling,” thought an AI-generated avatar would be the perfect courtroom wingman. Picture this: a perfectly coiffed, button-down-wearing digital dude starts addressing the judges with robotic politeness. Spoiler alert: it did not go well.

Judicial Mic Drop

Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels was not here for this tech experiment. “I don’t appreciate being misled,” she declared, promptly shutting down the digital imposter faster than you can say “objection!”

This isn’t even the first time AI has caused legal chaos. Remember when lawyers cited completely fictional court cases generated by chatbots? Tech might be cool, but it turns out judges prefer humans who, you know, actually understand the law.

The Tech Rebellion Continues

Interestingly, while some courts are side-eyeing AI, others are embracing it. Arizona’s Supreme Court is now using AI avatars to summarize court rulings. Maybe they missed the memo about AI’s wild imagination?

For Dewald, the lesson is clear: courts might be ready for some tech innovation, but catfishing them with an AI avatar is definitely not the way to go. Maybe stick to practice arguments in the mirror, buddy.