Court Investigation Fails to Identify Who Leaked the Dobbs Opinion

The investigation into the person who leaked the Dobbs opinion has come up empty. On May 2, 2022, Politico released a draft majority opinion of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that ultimately overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion a constitutional right. The leaked opinion enleashed political turmoil throughout the nation between the celebrating anti-abortion supporters and the distressed Roe supporters. Security for the SCOTUS Justices increased as protests intensified outside of the Supreme Court building in D.C., as well as the rest of the nation. Security guards were stationed outside the homes of the justices and metal barricades were placed to block protestors from the building. 

After the draft was released, Chief Justice John Roberts directed court Official Gail Curley to launch an investigation on the court employee who leaked the decision. A quote from Curley reads: “If a Court employee diclosed the draft opinion, that person brazenly violated a system that was built fundamentally on trust with limited safeguards to regulate and constrain access to very sensitive information.” After interviewing the 82 employees who had access to the documents as well as others, investigators still could not identify who leaked the decision. Curley’s report stated that her team was able to determine that it was unlikely that someone outside of the court leaked the draft but that the ability for some employees to work from home could have made it possible for sensitive information to be removed from the building and the Court’s IT network. Her report also suggested increased security and confidentiality of the documents to prevent a similar situation in the future.