Chief Justice John Roberts has launched an investigation into the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft of the majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, saying that it was an “egregious breach” of the trust of the Court.
In the majority opinion draft, which was leaked to Politico, Justice Samuel Alito writes that “Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely—the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Alito added. “Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”
The Supreme Court responded to the leak in a press release.
“Yesterday, a news organization published a copy of a draft opinion in a pending case. Justices circulate draft opinions internally as a routine and essential part of the Court’s confidential deliberative work,” the press release said. “Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final portion of any member on the issue in the case.”
The press release included a statement from Chief Justice John Roberts, which said, “To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way.”
“We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce – permanent employees and law clerks alike – intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law,” Roberts continued. “Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. This 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.”
“I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak,” Roberts announced.
BREAKING – Chief Justice on #SCOTUS leak: pic.twitter.com/a346EUHjoD
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) May 3, 2022
