Supreme Court deliberations once were actually supreme and private.
This from thepatriotjournal.com.
Those days seem like ancient history now that America’s highest court has been transformed into Washington’s leakiest vessel. What had been the most dignified institution in our government now resembles “a reality TV show where someone always has to spill the tea.”
The past few years have seen an unprecedented flood of confidential court documents making their way to the front pages of major newspapers.
– Most notably, somebody (we still do not know who) leaked the entire draft opinion of the Dobbs decision in 2022, effectively turning the Supreme Court into a political piñata for months.
– More recently, in late 2024, private memos and court documents specifically targeting Chief Justice John Roberts mysteriously appeared in The New York Times. Funny how these leaks always seem to target conservative justices, [no]?
Third time’s the charm for a group of Republican Senators who are saying “enough is enough.” Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) have reintroduced the “Stop Supreme Court Leakers Act,” which aims to make leaking confidential Supreme Court information a federal crime with serious teeth.
From ‘Daily Caller’:
The legislation would require individuals convicted of leaking information from the Supreme Court to pay a $10,000 fine and serve a maximum of 10 years in prison, according to the text of the bill, as obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The bill also calls for seizing any profits that leakers may earn from disclosing sensitive information.
The impact of these leaks goes far beyond just spilling secrets.
When the Dobbs draft opinion hit the press in May 2022, protesters showed up at the homes of conservative justices—a clear attempt to intimidate the court into changing its decision. The Marshal of the Supreme Court launched an investigation but somehow could not figure out who was responsible despite the pool of potential leakers being relatively small.
Court observers have suggested a member of the court’s liberal wing was likely behind the recent leak targeting Chief Justice Roberts.
– The pattern here is not exactly subtle—these leaks appear strategically timed to undermine conservative justices and pressure them into changing their positions.
– It is judicial blackmail, plain and simple.
What’s truly remarkable is that until now, there has not been a specific criminal statute against such behavior. Apparently, We the People assumed the institution would be respected enough not to turn it into a gossip column.
This speaks volumes about America’s decline in moral character as well as the overwhelming contentious nature of our political battlefield.
The Stop Supreme Court Leakers Act aims to change
this accountability gap by creating real consequences
for those who betray the court’s confidentiality.
Senator Cassidy told the Daily Caller News Foundation:
Supreme Court leaks should be a criminal offense.
Further:
Leakers threaten the safety of justices, damage the Court’s reputation and put lives at risk.
And:
They must be held accountable, not celebrated.
Senator Blackburn echoed these sentiments, having noted:
[The legislation] would ensure the Court’s work remains free from unwanted outside interference by cracking down on those who leak confidential information.
NOTE:
This is not this bill’s first rodeo. Senator Cassidy previously introduced it in June 2022 after the Dobbs leak, but it failed to advance in the then-[communist/globalist]-controlled Senate. Now, with President Trump back in office and Republicans holding more power in Congress, the bill has a fighting chance to become law.
Some legal pontificators will say this is merely “inside baseball for legal nerds.”
Yes, the Supreme Court is designed to be insulated from public pressure for a reason—so justices can make decisions based on the Constitution rather than public opinion polls or Twitter mobs. Sadly, however, when the left threatens violence against our justices and/or their families, and justices partake of the Lolita Express services or are involved in not-so-secret unconstitutional “black magic” clubs, “inside baseball for legal nerds” is peanuts in the grand scheme of the day.
The Founding Fathers created a judiciary that was deliberately removed from the daily political fray. By establishing consequences for those who would turn the court into just another political battlefield, this bill helps restore the institutional integrity that makes our system of government work.
As Sen. Hyde-Smith stated:
[These unprecedented leaks] undermine public trust and the Supreme Court as an institution.
And in a time when trust in government institutions is already at historic lows, this is the last thing to which We the People should be subjected.
Final thoughts: Oddly enough our wizened law makers see the need for a law which specifically outlaws the performance of an act which is already unlawful—leaking confidential information. Violating legal obligations or confidentiality may—of and unto themselves—lead to civil lawsuits or criminal penalties. There is an apparent need for enforcing the laws already on the books.
