# Who leaked the draft abortion decision? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 4, 2022, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910 "2022-05-04T00:45:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/101 "2022-05-04T18:32:07Z")
I think it was Alito, too. My guess is that he wanted to present it as a fait acompli because the other conservatives were getting cold feet. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/102 "2022-05-04T18:36:08Z")
Well I’m pretty sure that this leak makes any conservative justice jumping ship impossible now, and makes even softening of Alito’s opinion unlikely. That’s why I’m convinced the leaker is conservative. Kavanaugh does care about his image. That’s why he absolutely can not allow the impression that this chain of events occurred: - Kavanaugh on board with overturning Roe and Casey - That info leaks - Liberals get mad - Kavanaugh softens his stance ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/103 "2022-05-04T18:42:07Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > If it is a clerk, I hope it was worth tanking their law career over because **nobody** will hire a lawyer that breaches confidentiality like this. The clerk will end up as Saul Goodman or Joe Miller. And if it was a custodian? “You’ll never empty out wastebaskets and mop floors in this town again!” doesn’t sound like much of a threat. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/104 "2022-05-04T18:46:26Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And if it was a custodian? “You’ll never empty out wastebaskets and mop floors in this town again!” doesn’t sound like much of a threat. “You’ll empty wastebaskets and mob floors in jail!” would be, however. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/105 "2022-05-04T18:47:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And if it was a custodian? It goes back to who left it in a place a custodian could get it. Or who didn’t vet the custodian. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/106 "2022-05-04T18:47:32Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > law clerks are bound by solicitor-client confidentiality. Intentionally breaching solicitor-client confidentiality Lawyer-client confidentiality might apply to some aspects of a law clerk’s work. However, a judge isn’t the clerk’s client and the clerk isn’t the judge’s counsel, so leaking a draft of a judge’s opinion wouldn’t fall within lawyer-client privilege. That’s not to disagree with the rest of what you said, however. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/107 "2022-05-04T18:52:25Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > However, a judge isn’t the clerk’s client and the clerk isn’t the judge’s counsel, so leaking As I said way up in this thread, there may be differences between US and Canadian law here. I would say that if you’re hired to provide advice to the judge, solicitor-client would apply. A clerk isn’t just a research drone. The judge asks them for advice as well. Doesn’t mean the judge follows it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/108 "2022-05-04T18:55:16Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I would say that if you’re hired to provide advice to the judge, solicitor-client would apply. I believe in the context of the U.S. legal profession, “client” and “counsel” have much more narrow definitions. Otherwise, almost any employee of any employer could be subject to such a rule. A “client” is someone who seeks _legal advice_ regarding _es own legal interests_ from a lawyer licensed to practice law. By definition, a judge ruling in a case isn’t seeking advice regarding es own legal interests. A junior associate or clerk or legal assistant at a law firm who breaches confidentiality is breaching a duty owed not to the law firm, but rather to the law firm’s clients. A judge doesn’t have clients, either. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/109 "2022-05-04T18:58:44Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > For that reason I think the leak comes from some of the support staff rather than the lawyers. As @Northern_Piper has mentioned up thread, a previous leak was traced back to the print shop. So maybe the IT, steno pool (if it still exists, though since most of the SCOTUS judges are older people it might), maybe one of the security guys. Right, any office staff, cleaning staff, maintenance, etc. There has to be a long list of people that have opportunity. If someone takes a copy home for a legit reason – to read or edit – it’s exposed to spouses, kids, roommates, friends, neighbors, household staff, chauffeurs, etc. If they don’t follow control policy they might have multiple revisions piled on their desk and may not have noticed one missing. If someone shares a copy with someone they trust – to show off, to help with fundraising, to make a point – it’s easy to imagine it ballooning. All it takes is someone in that chain that cares more about leaking than they do about the people in the chain. > [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > I bet that if we ever learn what the Supreme Court document control policy looked like when this leak occurred, we’ll be shocked at how out of date and full of holes it was. Exactly. And often the people with the most authority follow the control policy the least. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/110 "2022-05-04T19:05:25Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Exactly. And often the people with the most authority follow the control policy the least. Cf. Hillary Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/111 "2022-05-04T19:14:47Z")
A supreme court draft? I’ll steal it! **NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW!** ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/112 "2022-05-04T19:43:33Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I suppose staff is a possibility. A custodian or receptionist might be delighted or appalled by this decision, and want it known for some reason. Anything is possible but I would think this is unlikely. They’d have to have read it to know there was something valuable there and it is 98 pages long. That or they have to be familiar enough with the title _Thomas E. Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health, et al. v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, et al._ to know what was contained with in (unlikely). Given the amount of paperwork they are exposed to I doubt they are in the habit of reading any of it if they do not have to. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/113 "2022-05-04T19:46:39Z")
> [@Ziberian](#): > > > [@jshore](#): > > > > Otherwise, why leak a February draft almost 3 months later? > > They needed time to think about it? Or time to cover their tracks? Maybe they have since moved on so know they’re less likely to be under suspicion. Time will very much help the leaker – it will be much harder to identify the leak three months later. Fair enough. I agree that the timing certainly does not rule out the possibility that the leak was from the pro-choice side of the spectrum. However, it does still make it less likely in my opinion. We may know more when the actual opinion comes out and we can see how it compares to Alito’s draft. If it is close then that is more evidence in favor of a leak from the pro-choice side; if it is more dramatically different (or there is a change in the voting lineup so it is not the majority opinion) then that is more evidence in favor of a leak from the anti-abortion side. (Of course, if it is significantly different…or there is a change in the voting lineup, I am sure that the Republican line is going to be how the poor justices were intimidated by the leak and subsequent uproar, especially given how well such victim-hood claims play right now with the Republican base; however, hopefully we can pretty much agree that these claims will almost certainly be bullshit.) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/114 "2022-05-04T19:59:20Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Roberts confirmed that this was a real document, but I don’t think that anyone has said that this was the final decision, set in stone. Roberts said the decision was not final yet. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/115 "2022-05-04T20:05:23Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > > [@Czarcasm](#): > > > > And if it was a custodian? “You’ll never empty out wastebaskets and mop floors in this town again!” doesn’t sound like much of a threat. > > “You’ll empty wastebaskets and mob floors in jail!” would be, however. It wasn’t necessarily a crime, though. Drafts of Supreme Court opinions aren’t classified material. There may be a crime in there somewhere, if someone hacked a computer or broke into an office, but I believe the general opinion is that it wasn’t illegal. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/116 "2022-05-04T20:05:47Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > > [@k9bfriender](#): > > > > Roberts confirmed that this was a real document, but I don’t think that anyone has said that this was the final decision, set in stone. > > Roberts said the decision was not final yet. “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. Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.” ([https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr\_05-03-22](https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_05-03-22)) (Technically, this was a statement of the Court, not attributed to Roberts specifically, although I imagine that he had a very strong hand in it. It was followed by a statement on the leak itself, i.e., it being a egregious breach of trust that will be investigated, that was expressly attributed to Roberts.) ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/117 "2022-05-04T20:30:12Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > So, it’s not about any laws or regulations or anything like that? Just threats of professional retaliation? It is about conduct detrimental to the profession, breach of trust, conduct detrimental to the administration of justice, and possibly involves dishonesty and criminal acts.\* It’s possible for clerks to be members of the bar in various jurisdictions, so I don’t know which rules might apply to that person, but some version of the model rule for “misconduct” likely exists in every jurisdiction. Here’s some relevant text of the ABA Model Rule 8.4: > [@](#): > > **Maintaining The Integrity Of The Profession** > > It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to: > > (a) violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another; > > (b) commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects; > > (c) engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; > > (d) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice; > > […] > > (f) knowingly assist a judge or judicial officer in conduct that is a violation of applicable rules of judicial conduct or other law; or I think Justice Scalia’s warning was on top of the professional repercussions that would already happen. As already mentioned, being a clerk to a Supreme Court Justice is a huge career stepping stone. Both because of the prestige, and because of the doors the Justice might be able to open for a clerk at the end of their service. And I would very much believe that any Justice at least believes something similar, and that it would apply even if the clerk did something perceived as helping the justice’s own “side.” Not only won’t you get help, but you’ll have someone actively opposed to you works ng in the profession at all. And for good reason. \*The material doesn’t have to be classified for it to be a crime. There may at least have been a form of theft involved, depending on the circumstances. I’m not saying they should be prosecuted, but it can factor in to professional discipline. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/118 "2022-05-04T20:50:49Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > As already mentioned, being a clerk to a Supreme Court Justice is a huge career stepping stone. Both because of the prestige, and because of the doors the Justice might be able to open for a clerk at the end of their service. Agreed, this is why it seems unlikely that a clerk leaked it intentionally. They have already proven themselves by clerking for the lower courts. They are at the beginning of their careers where they can write their own ticket. Soon they will be making, what, 7 or 8 figures? Why would they throw that away by leaking something that they can’t even be sure will have a desired effect? Plus it’s not like the Clerks are a bunch of green interns. There are a lot of familiar names on this list: > **[List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Chief Justice)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_law_clerks_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States_(Chief_Justice))** > > Law clerks have assisted the justices of the United States Supreme Court in various capacities since the first one was hired by Justice Horace Gray in 1882. Each justice is permitted to have between three and four law clerks per Court term. The chief justice is allowed to have five law clerks per Term, but no chief justice has ever done so regularly. Most persons serving in this capacity are recent law school graduates (and typically graduated at the top of their class). Among their many fu T... ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/119 "2022-05-04T20:56:42Z")
What profits a man who gains the world and loses his soul? ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-leaked-the-draft-abortion-decision/963910/120 "2022-05-04T20:57:41Z")
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