Shannon v Shannon

Case Information

Case name	Shannon v. Shannon
Court	Nebraska Supreme Court
Docket	S-25-546; 322 Neb. 451
Filed	Original action and appeal filing dates not identified in the sources reviewed. Opinion filed October 2, 2026.
Judge(s)	Funke, C.J.; Cassel, Stacy, Papik, Freudenberg, Bergevin and Vaughn, JJ.; opinion by Vaughn; Stacy concurred in the result.
Appellee	Shalah N. Shannon (appellee)
Appellant	Jarrod Shannon (appellant)
Case type	Appeal from civil contempt proceedings concerning a divorce decree
Claims / issues	AI-generated fictitious citations in the appellant’s brief; contempt sanctions and related orders
Status	October 2, 2026: brief struck; appeal reviewed for plain error; contempt ruling affirmed

Shannon v. Shannon is a Nebraska Supreme Court decision on fabricated legal citations in a self-represented litigant's appellate brief. In an October 2, 2026 opinion, the court found that Jarrod Shannon admitted using generative AI and that his brief cited fictitious cases and misstated law. It struck the brief, reviewed the underlying contempt appeal for plain error and affirmed the district court.

AI-assisted briefing and ruling

The court applied its earlier Prososki v. Regan analysis to a litigant appearing without counsel. It held that a self-represented party has the same obligation as a lawyer not to present nonexistent authority or misstatements of law. The court treated Shannon's brief as sanctionable and struck it. Because it had not previously addressed the sanction for self-represented parties in this context, it reviewed the appeal for plain error instead of dismissing it. The opinion warned that a future appeal may be dismissed for comparable conduct.

Related coverage

• October 6, 2026 news coverage.
• Simpson v. Porter — a separate Arkansas inquiry about an apparently nonexistent citation.

References