Supreme Court Leaks Have Many Questioning Justice Alito

Debate is rising on whether the Dobbs draft was the first decision to be leaked from the Supreme Court. In 2014, Hobby Lobby v. Burwell was decided with a majority opinion by Samuel Alito stating that The Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows Hobby Lobby to deny health coverage for contraception to its employees [1].

Former anti-abortion activist Reverend Rob Schenck claims that he was made aware of the Hobby Lobby decision prior to the announcement and was able to help with Hobby Lobby’s PR preparations. He claims that “only a handful of advocates” were told the decision [2].

Samuel Alito is the prime person of interest for those that believe the decision was leaked. Alito was the author of the majority opinion for both Dobbs and Hobby Lobby, making suspicions rise that he was involved in both leaks.

Despite Justice Alito’s denial of the allegations, many are calling for a congressional investigation on these leaks, including Brian Fallon, executive director of Demand Justice [3]. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse have received a letter from over sixty progressive groups calling for an investigation into Justice Alito after Schenck’s whistleblowing to the 2014 decision. Trust in the judicial branch has already been weakened by the leaked Dobbs draft, and this is certainly not helping the Supreme Court to earn any of that trust back.