(RepublicanInformer.com)- Gail Curley has been named the lead investigator who will look into the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion that has signaled the high court is ready to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Curley has been on the job as the marshal of the U.S. Supreme Court for less than one year, and already she’s been thrust into a major investigation. In her normal everyday duties, her job is to oversee the police force for the high court as well as all the operations inside the building where all the justices work.
Now, she’s going to be thrust into the public spotlight trying to identify the source of the leak of the majority draft opinion in a high-profile case.
Ever since the opinion was leaked, protests have been raging across the country, with some people going as far as threatening the conservative justices and their families. That has forced the court to step up security, providing surveillance at the homes of the justices around the clock.
At the same time, Chief Justice John Roberts has said that the high court would investigate where the source of the leak came from, and Curley is heading up that effort.
Those who know Curley well say that she has the “right temperament” for a responsibility like this. She’s both a former military lawyer and colonel in the Army. Those close to her say that’s she’s apolitical, private, smart and isn’t likely to be intimidated by anyone.
As Patrick Huston, a retired Army brigadier general, said:
“I’m confident that if the truth can be found out here, she’ll find it out and present it in an unbiased manner.”
Huston served as Curley’s direct supervisor in her last job in the military before she joined the Supreme Court. He added that Curley has a tremendous reputation being a leader and that he has been very impressed by her.
Curley declined a request by Newsmax for an interview on the situation.
She is serving as the 11th Marshal for the Supreme Court and is the second woman who will serve in the role. While she will now head an important task, what power she actually has to do anything about it is in question.
Many legal experts have said already that simply leaking the draft opinion probably didn’t constitute a crime. In addition, the tools that Curley has to investigate the situations are likely very limited.
It’s uncertain whether Curley — or any other person — would have the ability to issue subpoenas to get information from the people who would have had access to the draft opinion. There’s also not a lot of precedent for the high court to go on with this investigation.
That being said, it’s still an important job that Curley is doing. Even if they can’t hold the person who leaked the draft opinion criminally liable, that person is sure to be fired from their job. It’s also possible they could lose their license to practice law.
So, at the very least, the result of the investigation could be a major deterrent for someone to leak another draft opinion — or anything elese — from the Supreme Court in the future.
