The Supreme Court "mistakenly" published an abortion-related ruling on its website recently, marking only the second time in history such an error has occurred, and former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano expressed his concerns about the premature release during an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday.
"No, not a coincidence. Look, the last time this happened, it was two months before the [final] opinion came out. The chief justice had all these U.S. marshals investigating [and] assured us it would never happen again. John Roberts has a big headache tonight because it happened again," Napolitano said on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE."
"And this is a draft, and it says draft; the other one was the final one, he added. We don't know if this is what's going to come out on Friday. We'll find out."
The mistakenly posted document, according to Axios, indicated that the court voted 6-3 to allow abortions in Idaho emergency rooms. In the draft, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch voted against upholding the lower court ruling.
Patricia McCabe, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court, confirmed that the document was uploaded in error by the court's publications unit. The nature of the posted document, whether it was a draft or the final decision, remains unclear.
The incident parallels a significant breach in 2022 when Politico obtained and published a draft of the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade weeks before the official announcement in June. The recurrence of such leaks raises questions about the integrity of the court's internal processes.
Napolitano underscored the gravity of the situation, pointing out that the leak was likely an attempt to sway public opinion or political outcomes. "When these things do come out ahead of time, somebody inside the court is trying to send a message to their political allies or their political opponents in the general public," he said. "That is not a legitimate use of the court's assets.
The Supreme Court has yet to comment on the potential implications of the leak or any measures being taken to prevent future occurrences.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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