Sweeney and Point Buckler Back in Court Against California Agencies
Following the January arrest of John Sweeney outside the Solano County courthouse, he is now headed back to court with his own lawsuit. As first reported in The Daily Muck on April 8, John Sweeney and his wife Jennifer Frost utilized AI to file a lawsuit alleging a 25-year environmental and judicial conspiracy in California. Using Grok AI and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, they produced a 34-page legal complaint to draft a lawsuit primarily created by these artificial intelligence tools.
Their suit is seeking $665 million in damages and alleges a decades-long fraud by state and federal environmental agencies. According to Sweeney and Frost, the scheme involved falsified wetland restoration records that allowed officials and contractors to siphon public funds while failing to complete actual projects. Sweeney claims the fraud began with the manipulation of the EcoAtlas database — used by agencies like the EPA and NOAA — listing nonexistent or unpermitted restoration on islands including Sweeney’s properties, Point Buckler and Chipps islands.
The filing alleges that this eco-fraud not only led to the misappropriation of $152 million in land value, but also contributed to the near-extinction of the Delta smelt. They claim their efforts to challenge the false records were met with judicial retaliation, including asset freezes, voided deeds, forced sales, and arrests. Judge Christine Carringer and other officials are accused of using the courts to silence Sweeney and Frost by denying legal counsel, issuing defective warrants, and orchestrating a “civil conspiracy” to bankrupt and discredit them.
Central to the case is the claim that California’s environmental apparatus became a racketeering enterprise using green policies as cover for property theft and fraud. AI is prolific. The 34-page lawsuit includes 11 counts under civil rights statutes and RICO laws, demanding both restitution and a federal investigation.
It will be interesting to see how this AI-powered filing works out with its intent to expose systemic corruption. Maybe we’ll all find a way to use the technology when we can’t afford lawyers. If so, will AI-empowered judges be the next tool to emerge to resolve the rapid increase in lawsuits? Sadly, it’s a far cry from the days of sailing 11 Meters, kiteboards and IACC boats on the Bay.
The state of California is more corrupt Ukraine
I’d bet newscum had a hand in this.
Seven days late!
I may be an old fool with a short leg, but all the pulling won’t make it longer!
¡AI Caramba!
Please tell me this is an 8th of Fool’s joke.
So much for keeping it friendly. I can’t believe someone approved the “newscum” comment. I guess we know where Lat 38 stands.
At least you now know what two readers think about the governor. It would be a huge leap to imagine you now know where ‘Lat38’ stands. We think if we had an internal meeting with everyone working at Latitude about this individual’s post we’d find some or perhaps all would suggest not hitting the ‘Approve’ button. Hey, nobody’s perfect.
We’re sure that if we were sitting with you in a yacht club bar discussing a broad range of topics we’d find much in common and much to disagree about. We find that true whenever any two people get together. Since you weighed in we can all assume we now know where you stand though, if we were betting money on it, we wouldn’t bet much because there’s a huge chance we’d be wrong (again). If the lawsuit goes to court it will be interesting to see what is uncovered.
No shortage of artificial intelligence all around
I know and have raced on the level e27 in the fleet with John Sweeny? I think so, way back when. mb
I have requested in letters to lat38 editors multiple times in past years, for pointers regarding how to sue harbor administrations, for very basic violations, and lat38 has never published nor replied, so, suddenly this is news, huh? Because it is AI driven? Pfff lat38 always has the wrong priorities… namely trying to drum up drama to earn more revenue for themsevles rather than solve boaters problems.
It’s possible you wrote and we didn’t receive them or possibly we didn’t reply. We did search and couldn’t find your email(s) though we have to admit we can’t possibly keep up with the volume of emails we receive. We do our best. Either way we also wouldn’t have any ‘pointers’ on how to sue harbor administrations. We’d guess this article might actually help you do that as it the story tells you how the Sweeney’s went about filing. We suppose you could do the same or hire a lawyer.
Latitude 38 has covered waterfront agencies including the BCDC, the Department of Boating and Waterways and many others as best we can since the 70s. Since the Sweeney’s lawsuit was filed on April 8th it is ‘suddenly news.’ We do see our mission as connecting the West Coast sailing community while covering the world of sailing through the eyes of West Coast sailors. That includes news, entertainment, inspiration and covering the many interesting, fun, and adventurous sailors going sailing. We don’t see our mission as ‘solving boaters problems’ though we do hope much of what we do helps boaters solve their own problems or helps them enjoy sailing more.
Corruption follows money. It is in every state, every city and in a significant number of smaller towns. It is certainly in the federal government. A close look at almost any building department, any permitting agency, and any government tentacle that employs contractors will revel some less than honest behavior. I am more amazed at people’s shock at the discovery than the actual acts. Oversight and regulation are absolutely necessary and it requires involvement by all and an insistence on transparency. You shouldn’t blame officials while not being involved oneself, supervision is critical.
I would be interested in learning if DOGE is aware of this