Supreme Court leak harkens back to 1973 Roe v. Wade leak

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has confirmed the authenticity of a leaked majority draft opinion published by Politico that could overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue of abortion back to states. He has also ordered the Marshal of Court to investigate the source of the leak.

“The leak is an unbelievable breach of every ethic the Supreme Court has ever held onto,” conservative media host Ben Shapiro said.

But a leak of this magnitude is not without precedent. In 1973, a Supreme Court clerk leaked the original Roe v. Wade ruling to a TIME reporter hours before it was announced.

That leak led former Chief Justice Warren Burger to create a rule enabling any clerk caught speaking with a reporter to be fired in fewer than 30 seconds.