NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 25, 2026 | A three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a federal judge's order blocking a Mississippi law that restricts diversity, equity and inclusion programs, after finding the order contained fabricated content drafted with AI, Fox News reports. The opinion, released Thursday, Oct. 22, was written by Judge Jerry Smith. With the order vacated, the law can be enforced as written, and the panel moved the case to a new district judge, according to Fox News.
What the Appeals Court Found
The order came from U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate, who had sided with teachers, students and parents who argued the law, H.B. 1193, violates the First Amendment. Wingate has acknowledged that a law clerk used AI to draft the order and that the draft was mistakenly docketed, Fox News reports. The Fifth Circuit identified several errors, including references to parties not named in the complaint, "declarations" from people who did not exist or never appeared in the case, misquoted language from the law, and claims that it had shut down programs that appear not to exist.
Smith wrote that the order contained "several factual assertions nowhere to be found in the record, or indeed, in any proceeding of the case," per Fox News. He called Wingate's ruling a "botch job." Earlier coverage shows the errors had already drawn scrutiny. Mississippi Today reported that Wingate admitted his clerk used AI after an inquiry from Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, and that the original order was replaced with a corrected version. The state argued at the Aug. 31 hearing that the corrected order still cited a case that appears not to exist, Courthouse News reported.
Analysis: Where the Case Stands
The ruling came 52 days after the Aug. 31 oral argument (Aug. 31 to Oct. 22). One detail differs between sources: Fox News describes the order vacated as a temporary restraining order, while Mississippi Today and Courthouse News described the order on appeal as a preliminary injunction that relied on a corrected version of that restraining order. We have followed Fox News's description of the ruling and cannot confirm the order's exact legal label from the opinion itself.
The case shows how an AI draft can reach a court record when it is not checked before filing. Fox News says the errors were factual claims with no basis in the case record, which is the kind of AI error our AI hallucination statistics page tracks. Courts and law firms using AI draw on the same tools covered in our AI legal statistics guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Fifth Circuit rule about the AI-drafted order?
On October 22, 2026, a Fifth Circuit panel vacated a Mississippi federal judge's order blocking the state's DEI law after finding it contained fabricated content drafted with AI. The case was moved to a new district judge.
How did the AI errors get into the court order?
Judge Henry Wingate acknowledged that a law clerk used AI to draft the order and that the draft was mistakenly docketed without being caught.