"Being a judge felt like something other people did, people who seemed more confident. I counted myself out." To test the idea, Diaz joined the Temporary Judge Program, presiding over small claims cases at Stanley Mosk Courthouse. "I loved it," she said. "Even when people lost, they felt heard. Pronouncing someone's name correctly, explaining the ruling, showing that you listened--it matters."

(Subscription required) AI hallucinations reveal the resilience and limits of our adversarial process. Institutional skepticism eventually catches fake cases, but only when lawyers do their professional duties.

Northern California prosecutors used artificial intelligence to write a criminal court filing that contained references to nonexistent legal cases and precedents, Nevada County District Attorney Jesse Wilson said in a statement.

(Subscription required) The case was the first enforcement action under Connecticut's Student Data Privacy Law and California's K-12 Pupil Online Personal Information Protection Act. Along with New York, all three states' student privacy laws require online educational providers to have adequate protections and security measures for education data.