Liberal Justices Deliberately Delayed Dobbs Release Despite Security Threats Through Strategic Footnote
Source: Brianna Lyman. "How Liberal Justices Used A Footnote To Drag Out Dobbs Release." April 23, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that liberal Supreme Court justices intentionally delayed releasing the abortion decision by including an unnecessary legal reference that forced them to wait for another case. This happened even though conservative justices were facing assassination threats and the delay made the situation more dangerous.
Conclusion
Liberal Supreme Court justices deliberately and unnecessarily delayed the release of the Dobbs decision despite serious security threats to conservative justices
Premises
- Justice Alito warned colleagues that delaying Dobbs release was a security threat after the leak
- The majority opinion was completed in February but the liberal dissent lagged for months
- Liberal justices refused to provide completion dates when asked by Justice Gorsuch in May
- The dissent included an unnecessary footnote citing the unreleased Bruen decision
- The Bruen citation was not required for the dissent's legal analysis of abortion regulation
- This footnote prevented Dobbs release until Bruen was decided, extending the delay
- Justice Kagan actively opposed accommodating the majority's request to expedite
Assumptions
- The footnote was strategically placed rather than accidentally included
- The liberal justices were aware the footnote would cause delay
- Security threats to conservative justices were genuine and serious
- The dissent could have been completed earlier without compromising its quality
- Delaying controversial decisions during security threats is inappropriate