Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court spoke out on Friday about an abortion-related issue that has overtaken the nation’s top court.
Last Monday, controversy arose after Politico released a leaked draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion, which indicated the court had decided to overturn Roe v. Wade. The circumstances behind the leakage are being looked into.
Just at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta, Thomas spoke to judges and attorneys on the cultural and political developments he feels are hurting the judiciary’s credibility.
According to Reuters, “we are growing hooked to desiring specific results, not dealing with the ones we don’t like.” “We can’t allow ourselves to be pushed into giving you exactly what you want,” per a report.
According to the Washington Post, Thomas did not mention the leak or the ensuing intimidation of the court’s conservative justices from far-left demonstrators. Instead, he mentioned, “events from early this week,” calling them a “symptom” of a culture that is becoming increasingly intolerant.
Thomas also expressed worry that a “different mentality” among young Americans is undermining trust and respect for the law. “Recent occurrences have demonstrated this huge transformation,” Thomas remarked, adding that “it bodes badly for a free and open society.”
Chief Justice John Roberts likewise expressed his displeasure with the disclosure. After confirming the authenticity of the manuscript, Roberts called the leak “absolutely awful.”
At a court conference on Thursday, Roberts said, “If the person organizing it believes it would affect our job, that’s just silly.”
Col. Gail Curley, the Supreme Court marshal, is investigating the origin of the leak.
The identification of the tipster, who is thought to be a legal clerk, has yet to be revealed. Few persons, however, have exposure to opinion drafts, restricting the pool of possible culprits. It’s disputed if such disclosure is unlawful.
Even Nevertheless, hypotheses concerning the origins of the leakage have divided opinion. Conservatives believe the decision draft was leaked by a left-leaning legal clerk in order to cause societal turmoil and compel the court’s conservative-leaning judges to modify their votes. Others, on the other hand, claim that a conservative clerk released the opinion draft in order to prevent the court’s conservative justices from voting otherwise.
According to NPR reporter Nina Totenberg, the “dominant belief” is that the leak was caused by a conservative clerk. She did not, however, present any proof to support her assertion.