Leaks are more likely when the Court is highly politicized

This appears to be at least the fifth different leak out of #SCOTUS related to Dobbs — after the WSJ editorial page, the original Politico leak, CNN, and the Washington Post. (And I may be missing one.)

It’s hard to overstate how ugly this means things must be behind the scenes. https://t.co/jpJrel5dFH

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) May 11, 2022

I joked about it before, but I think all these leaks are more likely to happen when respect for the Court as an institution collapses. I don't think the leaks are damaging the reputation of the Court, as conservatives claim. But I do think it is the other way around. When the Court is widely recognized as a place for political machinations, then political machinations (like leaks) become fair game.