The Supreme Court is still investigating how a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked and has yet to issue a report or disclose the identity of the leaker, five months after the probe was announced.
On May 2, Politico published a draft of the decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the major abortion decision that would eventually overturn Roe v. Wade. The unprecedented leak triggered protests across the country and at the Justices’ homes that continued for months.
Seated from left to right: Justices Samuel A. Alito, Jr. and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor Standing from left to right: Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. (Photograph by Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States)
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In a rare statement, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said on May 3 that the Court would investigate how the opinion got out, and said the leak “was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here.”
Pro-life demonstrators outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday, June 24, 2022. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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However, five months later to the day, on the first day of the court’s new term, the leaker’s identity is still unknown. Over the summer, reports surfaced that the Court was seeking access to the phone records of law clerks in an effort to learn how the opinion may have leaked out.
The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
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In September, Associate Justice Elena Kagan said she was hopeful for an update on the investigation by the end of the month.
Also in September, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch said at a conference that he hopes the committee overseeing the investigation into the leaker has a report “soon,” according to a Wall Street Journal report. It’s unclear if that investigation report would be made available to the public.
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“The chief justice appointed an internal committee to oversee the investigation,” Gorsuch said at the 10th Circuit Bench and Bar Conference in Colorado Springs on Sept. 8. “That committee has been busy, and we’re looking forward to their report, I hope soon.”
