Legal Expert Details What's Likely Happening Behind SCOTUS' Closed Doors - Exclusive
The leak of a first draft majority opinion from the Supreme Court that outlines a decision to overturn Roe v. Wade – the 1973 decision that protected abortion rights under the Constitution — and make abortion decisions a state-determined issue has made headline news. With the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, making for a six to three conservative super majority on the bench, some feared that it signaled an end to the federal protection of abortion rights, per Vox. And if the leaked document, first published by Politico, turns into the final decision, the fears were well founded.
While the nine justices haven't formally ruled on a decision regarding Roe v. Wade, the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion is surely not just a hot topic for the media and elected officials – AOC and the Squad have made their opinions clear – and the Supreme Court members are likely talking about it as well. To clarify how that conversation might be going, we asked Attorney Jamie White – who represented victims of sexual assault perpetrated by former USA Gymnastics's team doctor Larry Nassar — about the shocking turn of events.
Legal expert Jamie White thinks the leak was intentional
Amid the head-turning news, we turned to attorney Jamie White to explain what could really be going on behind closed doors. As he described the situation to us, the leak of the draft opinion from the Supreme Court that would overturn Roe v. Wade was probably no accident. "These things don't just happen, especially in a case at the center of 15 years of controversy," White said.
The successful attorney went on to say, "There probably were concerns that someone in the conservative majority was not going to play ball, so by putting the opinion out there, it undermines their ability to argue. Conservatives have long wanted an end to Roe, and they expect other conservatives to tow the line, even though a majority in this country support at least limited abortion access in cases of rape or incest or medical necessity." Since it's been made public which justices are currently in support for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, it could be harder for them to publicly switch sides.
The counter-argument is that someone from the left released the document to try and cause public outrage against the potential overturning of a decades-long precedent, per ABC News.
Chief Justice John Roberts has confirmed the authenticity of the leaked document, calling the leak a betrayal and asking for an investigation into the circumstances, but reiterated it was not a final decision by the court or by any individual justice, per The New York Times. A draft like the one that was given to Politico is written after the court has voted to determine the majority opinion, according to The Guardian.