Chief Justice John Roberts says it's 'just foolish' to think leak will affect work of the Supreme Court

Chief Justice John Roberts.
(Image credit: Erin Schaff/AFP via Getty Images)

In his first public appearance since Monday's leak of a draft opinion indicating the Supreme Court could soon overturn Roe v. Wade, Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday called the unauthorized release of the 98-page document "absolutely appalling."

Roberts, who made his remarks at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta, also said if "the person behind it thinks that it will affect our work, that's just foolish." He praised the law clerks and other employees who keep the Supreme Court running, and said he would "hate for one bad apple to change the perception of that."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.