Professor Thomas Lee was quoted in a National Law Journal article discussing the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion, which reveals a possibility of Roe v. Wade being overruled in the near future.
The leak of a draft opinion overruling two major abortion decisions is likely to affect the internal deliberations of the U.S. Supreme Court more than the public’s perception of the court’s legitimacy, which will be determined by the final decision.
Court scholars and others agreed that whoever leaked the draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito did the court no favors at a time when its public approval is on the decline, and when a number of justices have raised concerns about the institution’s legitimacy in the public’s eye.
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[The] deliberative process may change in some ways because of the leak, suggested Tom Lee of Fordham University Law School and a former clerk to Justice David Souter. “I clerked 20 years ago. We were all discreet, opinions were circulated to all of the chambers. I’m imagining that’s going to change. Will there be protocols issued? Will drafts be controlled more closely as well as electronic distribution?”