The leak of a draft opinion was ordered to be investigated by the Chief Justice.
Supreme Court clerks and staff have been warned by Roberts not to reveal details of deliberations.
Legal experts were struck by the leak of the draft opinion.
At the beginning of a Supreme Court term, Chief Justice John Roberts is known to give an admonition into an otherwise warm welcome to the latest class of generally young, frequently Ivy League-educated clerks.
He warns that leak information about the high court's inner workings could lead to career consequences. His message was relayed to Insider by past clerks and others who were familiar with the Supreme Court.
Roberts nightmare scenario is playing out in the Supreme Court case.
A majority of the Supreme Court justices appeared poised to overturn the landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed the federal right to an abortion, according to a draft opinion published Monday.
The draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito states that the decision to uphold the abortion law must be overruled.
The decision would have a huge impact on the future of abortion rights in the US. Legal experts were shocked by the leak itself, with one calling it highly disturbing and an almost unprecedented violation of Supreme Court protocol.
The source of the draft opinion was said to be a person familiar with the legal challenge to the abortion law. The leak gave rise to a game of whodunit among conservatives and the right-wing media, many of whom suggested the source of the draft had violated the law. It was difficult to identify a criminal violation.
The chief justice joined the effort to find the source of the leak. Roberts ordered the marshal of the Supreme Court to investigate the matter. Legal experts said that Roberts ordered an administrative inquiry akin to an internal investigation at a company.
David Lat, the author of the Original Jurisdiction newsletter and a close Supreme Court observer, said that the marshal's actions suggest that they are treating it like an ethical and employment issue.
The introduction of Roberts to the Supreme Court came at a time when concerns about leaks were high. In 1979 a year before he began clerking for the late Justice William Rehnquist, journalists Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong published "The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court."
The deliberations that led to some of the Supreme Court's most controversial decisions in the 1970s were detailed in the book.
The confidentiality of deliberations is important to the justices, clerks, and staff at the high court. A former clerk told Insider that the culture facilitates a kind of lawyerly work and dialogue that is hugely productive. It is not possible if people are looking over their shoulders.
The leak strikes a blow to the integrity of the Supreme Court because Roberts is the face of it.
Roberts is not the only one who cautions against leaks. Antonin Scalia warned new clerks on their first day about leaking.
Scalia would ruin a clerk's career if he found out that they had betrayed the confidences of the chambers.
Roberts became the subject of a rare report on the Supreme Court's internal deliberations. CBS reported in July of that year that he had initially sided with the court's four conservative justices to strike down then-president Barack Obama's signature health care law, but later changed his position and voted with the four Democrat-appointed justice.
The leak paled in comparison to the release of an entire draft opinion, former clerks and others familiar with the Supreme Court told Insider.
The court cannot operate if that happens. A former Supreme Court clerk told Insider that this is a major leak.
Roberts said that the Supreme Court work would not be affected by the leak. Roberts said it was an insult to the court and the community of public servants who work here.
The Supreme Court's statement reflected how serious it is about the leak. Lat said that the court prefers to just keep plugging ahead and pretend that things didn't happen.
The situation right now is Chief Justice Roberts worst nightmare, he said.
The original article is on Business Insider.
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