Gleason v. Marcus

No. 2D2024-2688 (Fla. 2d DCA May 13, 2026) · District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District · May 13, 2026 · No. No. 2D2024-2688

Summary

The Florida Second District Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of Christopher Gleason's complaint against the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections. The court also warned that filings containing nonexistent cases or inaccurate legal propositions generated through artificial intelligence may lead to unfavorable treatment or sanctions.

Court
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District
Writing for the Court
Kelly, J.; Rothstein-Youakim, J.; Labrit, J.
Jurisdiction
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District
Decision date
May 13, 2026
Docket number
No. 2D2024-2688
Procedural posture
Appeal from a final order dismissing the appellant's complaint with prejudice.
Precedential value
Published
Parties
Christopher Gleason v. Julie Marcus, in her official capacity as Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections
Disposition
affirmed

Topics

appellate proceduresanctionselection lawcivil procedure

Practice areas

appellate procedureelection lawcivil proceduresanctions

Questions Presented

  1. Whether the circuit court's final order dismissing Gleason's complaint with prejudice should be affirmed.
  2. Whether the court should address Gleason's apparent use of artificial intelligence to prepare briefs containing nonexistent authorities and inaccurate quotations.

Holdings

  1. The arguments presented by Gleason lacked merit, and the final order dismissing his complaint with prejudice was affirmed.

Key quotations

"This technology is very good at sounding right, but less adept at being right," and "blind reliance" on it is unwise, unacceptable, and sanctionable. (opinion at 2)

Factual background

Christopher Gleason appealed after the circuit court dismissed his complaint with prejudice. In his appellate briefs, he cited numerous nonexistent cases and attributed propositions to cited cases that did not contain them. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal and warned that inaccurate filings, including those apparently prepared through blind reliance on generative artificial intelligence, may have consequences in future proceedings.

Procedural history

The Circuit Court for Pinellas County entered a final order dismissing Christopher Gleason's complaint with prejudice. Gleason appealed, and the Second District Court of Appeal affirmed, concluding that his arguments lacked merit.

Court Document

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