Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The leaked draft of a Supreme Court abortion opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision is sending shock waves through the nation's legal system and has legal experts theorizing on how such a leak could occur.
As a nation digests the ramifications of a possible final decision by the court, the leaking of the document raises serious legal and ethical questions.
"It's a shock that this draft has been leaked," said Paul Cambria, noted Buffalo attorney who has argued before the Supreme Court. "I don't think ever in the history of the court, we've had a situation like this."
Apart from the Law Clerks, there are a number of people who could have possibly obtained this information, "There are personnel, everybody from cleaning staff to repair people to law clerks who have access to the (Judge's) quarters. The theory is that this was leaked because they want to put pressure on the court so that, perhaps, a different decision will be rendered," said Cambria.
There are a number of ways the Supreme Court could respond to the leak but it's not unlikely that criminal charges will follow, "The response is going to be strict for sure and there are a lot of choices that the Justice Department prosecutors have," said Cambria. "They could take the position that this is a public document that's been stolen and then the value of it will determine whether it's a life sentence or whether its a 10-year sentence. They could take the position that it's an attempt to obstruct the business of the court and charge it as obstruction of justice. They could take the position that it's a conspiracy to defraud the United States. My guess is they'll start putting some people in grand juries and see if they can get to the heart of it."
The leak is authentic, confirmed by Chief Justice John Roberts Tuesday in a statement and an investigation is already underway. The document stated favor of overturning the precedent from five justices, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas and all three of Donald Trump's nominees to the court: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
It is important to note that this decision is not final. It could be months before we know for certain that this will serve as the court's decision or if this document was just an opening round of negotiations.
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