Cassidy Reintroduces Stop Supreme Court Leakers Act
Published 7:27 am Friday, February 3, 2023
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) reintroduced the Stop Supreme Court Leakers Act, legislation that criminalizes individuals who leak confidential information from the Supreme Court of the United States.
“The Dobbs leak was an attempt to publicly intimidate justices and undermine the integrity of the Court. It continues to put lives at risk,” said Dr. Cassidy. “My bill holds leakers accountable and takes away any hopes of profiting off their crime.”
Cassidy’s legislation was referenced multiple times in the Supreme Court Marshal’s investigative report on the Dobbs leak, which was released last month.
Cassidy’s legislation is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Steve Daines (R-MT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Mike Lee (R-UT).
“The unconscionable leak of the draft opinion in the Dobbs case was an outright attack on the integrity of the judicial branch and incredibly damaging to the faith Americans place in the Supreme Court,” said Senator Hyde-Smith. “To restore that faith, we must hold accountable anyone who chooses to leak confidential information. This legislation would ensure that such illicit acts in the future are considered criminal offenses.”
“You shouldn’t receive a badge of honor or financial reward for leaking confidential documents from one of our nation’s most sacred institutions—you should face serious penalties. The leaked draft opinion of Dobbs not only undermined the integrity of our judicial system, but also spurred threats of violence against Supreme Court Justices and crisis pregnancy centers. We need to ensure leaking confidential information from the Supreme Court is a criminal offense,” said Senator Rubio.
“A leak from the Supreme Court breaches the trust of the Court, further erodes faith in our institutions and makes Justices even more vulnerable to intimidation and even violence. Court leaks like the Dobbs leak should be investigated to the full extent of the law, and we should be doing everything we can to prevent leaks like it the future,” said Senator Daines.
The Stop Supreme Court Leakers Act requires a $10,000 fine and imposes up to a 10-year prison sentence on those who leak confidential information from the Supreme Court. Additionally, Cassidy’s legislation goes one step further by enforcing a seizure of profits derived from the leak which could include book deals or cable television contributor contracts.
The Stop Supreme Court Leakers Act criminalizes leaks of the following information:
- Internal notes on cases heard by the Supreme Court of the United States.
- Any communication between the Chief Justice of the United States or an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and an employee or officer of the Supreme Court on a matter pending before the Supreme Court.
- A communication between officers and employees of the Supreme Court of the United States on a matter pending before the Supreme Court.
- A draft opinion or a final opinion prior to the date on which such opinion is released to the public.
- Personal information of the Chief Justice of the United States or an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States that is not otherwise legally available to the public.
- Any other information designated to be confidential by the Chief Justice of the United States.