1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Is Unauthorized Dissemination of a Draft Supreme Court Opinion a Federal Crime? May 10, 2022 On May 2, 2022, it was first reported that a news organization had obtained a draft Supreme Court majority opin
2、ion in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization and received confirmation from “a person familiar with the courts proceedings” in the case. The Court subsequently authenticated the draft opinion, and Chief Justice Roberts ordered an internal investigation. Beyond discussion of the substance of th
3、e draft opinion and its implications for the constitutional right recognized in Roe v. Wadeand setting aside potential employment or professional consequences for the person or persons who shared the drafta number of commentators have questioned whether the act of providing the draft opinion to a me
4、dia organization was a federal crime. Several Members of the House Oversight Committee wrote a letter to the Attorney General on May 3, 2022, calling for, among other things, a Department of Justice investigation and a briefing on “whether criminal charges are being considered against the individual
