A state contract worth $200,000 for attorney William Lunsford, who was sanctioned just weeks ago for court filings that contained fake citations generated by artificial intelligence, was put on hold Thursday as Alabama lawmakers raised questions about the state’s prolonged and costly prison litigation.
The contract would place Lunsford on a lawsuit defending the Alabama Department of Corrections in a civil lawsuit filed in 2018 in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
Lunsford and two other lawyers were sanctioned after a filing was found to contain several AI-generated, nonexistent case citations.
Representative Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, noted both the ongoing nature of the lawsuit and the recent controversy involving Lunsford’s use of AI in court filings.
“This is a new $200,000 contract,” said England. “At some point, as an Alabama taxpayer, you see cases that have been pending for a long time… and then also find out the representation we’ve been provided is someone who’s using AI to file motions in front of the court. You start to get to the point where maybe we need to find another law firm.”
England’s frustration stemmed from the timeline of the case itself, which was now entering its seventh year without resolution. England questioned whether such drawn-out cases serve the state’s interest at all, suggesting that in many situations, settling early could have cost far less.
“If we had just taken every plaintiff across the state in cases where they sued the Department of Corrections, and put them in a room and said, ‘How much would it cost to settle these cases?’ we probably would have spent infinitely less money than we have on the lawyers,” said England.
England, himself an attorney, described a “perpetual cycle of litigation” in which DOC cases, often tied to overcrowding, abuse, medical neglect or other systemic issues, linger for years with no resolution in sight, while the state continues to pay private counsel.
“I’m throwing my whole profession under the bus here,” said England, “but at some point, what is the strategy?… We’re millions of dollars in the hole with really nothing to show for it.”
He urged the Attorney General’s Office and DOC to present lawmakers with a full account of how many prison-related lawsuits are pending, what they’re about and whether the state plans to settle, seek consent decrees or go to trial.
Senator Tom Butler, R-Madison, suggested holding the Lunsford contract until those questions are answered.
“We’ve got to get some answers,” said Butler.
While the AI sanction heightened scrutiny of Lunsford, committee members stressed that their concerns extend to all DOC litigation. Lawmakers want to know whether the state has a proactive plan to resolve cases and reduce legal costs, or whether it is simply reacting to each lawsuit as it comes.
“This Lunsford and whatever firm he’s with is basically a government agency at this point,” said England. “We’re paying Lunsford more money than some government agencies.”
