John Roberts calls Supreme Court leak 'absolutely appalling'

In his first public appearance since Monday’s leak, Roberts also said that if “the person” or “people” behind the leak think it will affect the work of the Supreme Court, they are “foolish”.

Roberts spoke at a meeting of attorneys and judges at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference while the court is in a brief recess. The judges will meet again at their closed conference in Washington on May 12.

Roberts’ comments come as demonstrations on both sides of the issue have erupted across the country and abortion rights supporters fear states across much of the South and Midwest are willing to block the proceedings when the court orders a ruling in early July. makes final decision.

The draft opinion — written by Judge Samuel Alito and published Monday night by Politico — calls on the court to reject Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 advisory that legalized abortion nationwide.

“The Constitution makes no reference to abortion and such a right is not implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote. He said the Roe was “grossly wrong from the start” and that his reasoning was “exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.”

Roberts didn’t want to completely undo Roe v. Wade, meaning he would disagree with some of the opinion, sources tell DailyExpertNews, likely with the court’s three liberals.

Behind the scenes at the mysterious Supreme Court

The court confirmed the authenticity of the draft opinion, but emphasized that it was not final and did not reflect the final position of any member of the court. In a statement, Roberts called the leak a “serious breach” and a “betrayal of court confidence” and launched an investigation into the source of the leak.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

DailyExpertNews’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.