I've now had a chance to read the draft opinion in Moyle v. United States. The document is labeled 1.0, and is dated May 23, 2024. A lot can change over a month. But, like with the Dobbs leak two years ago, it is safe to presume that not many changes will be made. Here are my tentative thoughts.
First, Moyle was argued on April 24. That would suggest it took the Court about a month to put together a DIG and several separate writings. This timing suggests that the Court does indeed hold big cases till the end of the term, and does not always release them right away. It has happened that certain DIGs are held to the last day of the term. But why? Other DIGs are issued shortly after a case is argued.
Second, whatever security precautions were put in place after Dobbs failed. Bloomberg has not indicated how long the document was online for, but it was there long enough for it to be downloaded. Bloomberg likely was not the only one to see it. Moreover, the document posted was not final. It still had the version number (1.0) and date (5/23/24) on it. Somehow, someone in the Supreme Court managed to inadvertently post a draft opinion that was not complete. This was not like someone pushing the wrong button. Several steps in the process were bypassed. Will the Chief Justice assign the Marshal to investigate? I will withhold any calls for Roberts's resignation until more facts are developed.
