Chat GPT prompts – relied upon as evidence
I suppose it was only a matter of time.
Here is a short post by Matthew Lee – a barrister who is tracking all things AI in law so you don’t have to – about how chat GPT prompts were adduced in evidence in family proceedings, much in the same way as internet search history is often relied upon.
Matthew’s post is here, and the original judgment he is writing about is here.
As Matthew points out, Chat GPT prompts are not quite the same as internet searches, and their meaning and what they might reveal about a person’s motivations will be very fact specific – but it seems to me that, as with internet searches, they do have potential in some cases to be really quite important evidence. The most obvious example is queries in the aftermath of an unexplained injury by a carer, which reveal their knowledge of injury or of particular mechanisms. The circumstances in this case were much more obviously susceptible to multiple different explanations, but that doesn’t mean that these searches will always be irrelevant.
Here the material was produced by (it appears) a party taking screenshots of prompt history without the user’s knowledge. I suppose we will now have to start thinking about whether our instructions to forensic experts tasked with forensic download work, will also have to include requests for retrieval of AI prompt histories, too. I have certainly seen increasing evidence that participants in family proceedings are using such products in connection with family proceedings, whether that is because their materials read like the words of a robot who has swallowed a legal dictionary, or because their phone downloads reveal screenshots of chat gpt results, so it is the logical next step.
Book Review: “Child Care and Protection: Law and Practice”
This is a review of “Child Care and Protection: Law and Practice” by Safda Mahmood and Julie Doughty (7th edn, 2024, Wildy, Simmonds & Hill) by Dominik Morton, Barrister at St John’s Chambers. A little bit about me first of all. I am a barrister at St John’s Chambers in Bristol. I was called to the Bar in 2018. Since that date, I have had a private and public child law practice and have dealt with a variety of different cases. Therefore, offering to review this book made sense and provided me with a helpful reminder of legal topics, old and new, with accompanying analysis and law. What should be noted from the get-go is that this book has been written by two very experienced authors. Both authors have written extensively on a variety of topics and issues relevant to this book. Perhaps more importantly however is the fact that both authors have been practitioners for a considerable amount of time. Therefore, the breadth of legal topics covered within this book, along with...
New Cafcass Domestic Abuse Policy – lots of starting points, but where will we end up?
Cafcass has announced a new ‘domestic abuse practice policy’. The accompanying press release sets out a broader context, including the 2020 Harm Panel report, and the subsequent ‘national improvement programme’ initiated by Cafcass in response, but it pretty obviously follows hot on the heels of high profile reporting of cases where Cafcass are said to have contributed to unsafe decisions for the victims of domestic abuse and their children (notwithstanding that improvement programme). I’m thinking in particular of the recent coverage of two cases reported in the media, each involving a mother who alleged (and proved) they had been raped by the father, an initial Cafcass Officer who was dismissive of her allegations of abuse or their impact, and who, following an appeal by the mother, was subsequently replaced by a second officer of who went on to recommended an order for no contact and the removal of Parental Responsibility (PR) from the father. In both cases the court adopted the...
Children Law Conference
The family practice group at St John's Chambers, are holding a whole day children law conference on 19 November, at We The Curious in Bristol. We've worked really hard to put the programme together and have tried to squeeze in something for everyone. The morning is going to be mainly private law, the afternoon mainly public law. We have a range of speakers dealing with an array of topics, both members of the St John's family practice group (including moi) and external speakers include Lisa Harker from the FJO and BBC Correspondent Sanchia Berg. I am told that places are filling but there are still some available, so if you are pondering how best to acquire your CPD, or interested in topics such as transparency, parental alienation and domestic abuse, or covert recordings in children cases then this is one for you. And of course we will make sure there is a good old case law update. Come for half a day or the whole day. More information and details of how to book on the SJC website...
Kirstie gets a telephone call from the social
I had a call earlier. Did I want to do a TV interview about Kirstie Allsopp and child protection? Er...on the Sunday afternoon of the August bank holiday weekend? To be quite honest, no. I've not got my face on and I'm in the middle of prepping for a trial, which involves some actual child protection issues (such is the traditional August bank holiday weekend activity for us lawyers - though we did have a barbecue like a normal family yesterday). I'd vaguely noted it on the radio as I snoozed before getting up, briefly raising an eyebrow at the fact that a social worker making a telephone call to a parent had made the national news, and then briefly raised the other one at the insistence of the LA involved that they take EVERY child protection referral VERY SERIOUSLY (their statement was read as if in CAPS), before rolling over and continuing my snooze. I wasn't wild about going on tv to talk about such a non-story. Those who wish to read about the non-story may do so here (or...
X marks the spot?
It was the place where we all converged, at the centre of the social media map. But it all seems to be crumbling now. I flirted with mastodon a little while ago. Nobody really had the energy for it and it was dull as ditchwater, with suffocating etiquette to learn. We hoped it would get better back on twitter (as I think it then still was). It didn't. And this time it's feels like a substantial exodus away from Elon world, many galvanised by their repulsion at the part X and those who use and control it, played in the misinformation and disorder. For many lawyers it appears that the refusal to tackle misinformation and material inciting crime and disorder, means that X has become a positive threat to the rule of law. For some that means either that one must leave rather than support such a corrupting platform. For others it means they feel they need to stay to keep telling truth, correcting misinformation. This week has seen several posts from the elders of legal twitter about their...
About this blog
“Pink Tape” isn’t just about family law. I post about topics that interest me, which mostly revolve around family law, but also include non-legal family-related topics as well as unrelated subjects. I hope this blog will convince at least one person that not all of us in the legal profession are money-hungry sharks. Some of us are actually quite nice. Additionally, I aim to provide useful information about family law for those working in the field without being too heavy or boring.
The primary goal of the blog is to improve the quality of public information and discussions about legal issues.
I understand that not everyone is a fan of “Pink Tape” or family lawyers in general.
latest
Blog Posts
A KC and her sunshine band
The burden of writing a post about becoming King's Counsel has been weighing heavily on my shoulders since March. There are so many posts that I could write on that theme, all of them susceptible to complaints of self-absorption or privilege. And so I have fallen...
Beyond belief
On Sunday morning, the London Victims' Commissioner tweeted this: "Father charged with rape is made party to child’s care proceedings - a shocking example of how family court continues to work in conflict with the criminal court and exposes victims and children to...
New Templates
Last autumn I was a bit mardy about the template orders when it came to their attempt to warn litigants about the rules around confidentiality. https://www.pinktape.co.uk/rants/you-draft-fool/ I should have got around to politely raising my concerns with the committee...
The princess and the podcast
Still adjusting to everyone assuming I'm a fancy pants... My pants are - in fact - still a slightly off white / grey because I, like most other humans, am apparently unable to run a load of whites without a rogue sock getting in. I do have actual new blog posts up my...
Does QLR stand for Quite Literally Ridiculous?
Since I last wrote about the emerging issues with implementation of the QLR regime I have continued to receive ridiculous emails on a regular basis, in spite of having provided my contact details ONLY for the purposes of bookings at courts local to me. It's getting a...
The trans debate (no, not that one)
Sorry. Cheap headline, it's not about that. Been talking to a mate about transcripts. Yeah, that's how we lawyers roll. We were pondering the judgment of Lord Justice Peter Jackson in M (A Child: Leave to Oppose Adoption) [2023] EWCA Civ 404. Ostensibly it's (another)...
An appeal in an end-of-life case with broader application
Abbasi & Anor v Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2023] EWCA Civ 331 is an appeal judgment, which arises from the challenge by two sets of parents to continuing reporting restriction orders (RROs) that were made during separate proceedings about...
Free Copies of The Family Court Without a Lawyer 4th Edition
UPDATE: Have woken up to an inbox full of requests and all copies are now allocated. Off to the post office with them shortly. I've had a box of copies of the 4th edition of my book sitting in my office for an age, waiting for me to think up the best way to...
Two little letters
I feel I should mark the milestone of my appointment as King's Counsel on Pink Tape, the blog which has been a sort of companion throughout most of my legal career to date (including that time when The Times wrongly mistook me for Queen's Counsel, a decade too early)....
Rules of the blog
Anonymized or fictional
All the information on this blog is anonymized or fictional to avoid causing any trouble for anyone, including myself. I have modified details to prevent the identification of specific cases.
Comments
I won’t approve comments that, in my judgment, breach privacy laws related to family matters. Unless individuals have been identified in a published judgment, I won’t disclose their involvement in any proceedings.
Nothing Defamatory
I will not post anything that I believe could be considered defamatory. Due to time constraints, I can’t fact-check every statement in a comment. Therefore, I must be cautious to prevent potential legal issues or threatening letters. If you’re certain that a comment is not defamatory, you can publish it elsewhere at your own risk.
NOT Legal Advice
The content of this blog is not intended to constitute legal advice, so please don’t interpret it as such. It may seem relevant to your situation, but it likely isn’t. I cannot be held responsible for any reliance you place on its contents.
Accuracy
The information on the blog is as accurate and up to date as possible, considering my other commitments. Pink Tape is a hobby that I work on when time allows. Therefore, I can’t cover all legal changes or update information that becomes outdated.
External Links
I cannot be held responsible for the content of external sites linked from this blog, in terms of their accuracy or the opinions expressed on them
Moderation
I’ve implemented comment moderation on this blog to filter out comments that are repeatedly negative or offensive about lawyers. Rest assured, I won’t block sensible contributions, even if they disagree with me. I will strive to moderate promptly, but occasionally a comment may get lost in spam.
Right of Reply
If a post contains an inaccuracy about you and you’d like it corrected, feel free to comment for a right of reply. Please respect that the content on this blog is my intellectual property, and ask for permission before reposting. If you have any topics or blog post suggestions, feel free to email me at familoo@pinktape.co.uk.
Copyright
All material on this site is copyright of Lucy Reed. Please do not reproduce without permission.