---
title: 'Fifth Circuit vacates ruling and removes judge over AI-generated errors'
url: 'https://securteksecurity.com/news/fifth-circuit-vacates-ruling-removes-judge-ai-generated-errors'
markdown: 'https://securteksecurity.com/news/fifth-circuit-vacates-ruling-removes-judge-ai-generated-errors.md'
date: '2026-10-22'
description: "The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on October 22, 2026 vacated a preliminary injunction that had blocked Mississippi's ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools, and reassigned the case away from US District Judge Henry Wingate. Wingate had acknowledged that a key…"
taxonomy:
  category:
    - AI
---

# [Fifth Circuit vacates ruling and removes judge over AI-generated errors](https://securteksecurity.com/news/fifth-circuit-vacates-ruling-removes-judge-ai-generated-errors)

   22nd Oct 2026  

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on October 22, 2026 vacated a preliminary injunction that had blocked Mississippi's ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools, and reassigned the case away from US District Judge Henry Wingate. Wingate had acknowledged that a key earlier order in the case contained AI generated errors, including fabricated names and nonexistent legal authorities, and later told Senator Chuck Grassley that the errors came from a law clerk's unvetted use of Perplexity.

Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, writing for the three judge panel, called the ruling a botch job, with factual assertions nowhere in the record, and wrote that the district court, or perhaps its AI agent, ignored and manipulated governing law. The panel said the case easily called for reassignment, laid out instructions for the new judge, and noted that the state law applies to educators rather than students. The case is Jackson Federation of Teachers v. Fitch, No. 25-60496.

Sources: [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/appeals-court-lifts-block-mississippis-dei-ban-ejects-judge-over-ai-errors-2026-10-22/); [Law.com](https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2026/10/22/a-botch-job-5th-circuit-reassigns-case-after-judge-misused-ai-to-draft-ruling/)

---

## Navigation

- Parent: [News](https://securteksecurity.com/news.md)
- Previous: [Hacking attempts against the Federal Election Commission take its electronic filing system offline](https://securteksecurity.com/news/fec-hacking-attempts-filing-system-offline.md)
- Next: [FirstVDS confirms customer data theft through VMmanager 6 vulnerability](https://securteksecurity.com/news/firstvds-confirms-customer-data-theft-vmmanager-6.md)