Investigation fails to identify who leaked draft Supreme Court order in abortion suit

A court-ordered investigation failed to definitively identify who was responsible for the leak of a draft order signaling the justices would hear a lawsuit seeking a declaration the Wisconsin Constitution protects the right to an abortion.

On her final day as chief justice, Annette Ziegler released the conclusion of the private investigation she sought into the leak, which she called “a breach of trust the court had not experienced in its history.”

The investigation recommended a series of new security measures for the court, including tracking sensitive documents with a digital watermark that would make it easier to track their origin. It also recommended tightening up how hard copies of sensitive documents are handled and shoring up who has access to the chambers.

The investigation focused on a June 13 draft order that was leaked to Wisconsin Watch, which reported on it nearly two weeks later. The final order wasn’t released until July 2.

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It included interviews with 62 people, including all seven justices, and noted 28 of them had immediate access to the June 13 draft order.

Investigators wrote in the report their efforts were hampered by two things. One, the lead investigator wasn’t appointed until August 2024 and the assistants weren’t hired until two months later. That delay, they wrote, resulted in “the improper retention of critical computer evidence, compromising the ability to fully examine relevant data.”

Two, relevant computer data was missing. It should’ve included complete logs of websites visited between June 13, 2024, and June 26, 2024. But the explanation from the court’s chief information officer revealed “a failure in the verification process for the preserved data.”

The report noted the law clerk for Justice Ann Walsh Bradley printed five documents related to the draft order the day before Wisconsin Watch published its story. There were also two instances where the draft order was emailed to Bradley’s personal account before the story was published.

A law clerk told investigators both were standard operating procedure for Bradley with emails of importance.

Bradley, who will become chief justice tomorrow, declined comment on the report.

The report noted none of those interviewed said they had any knowledge of how the leak occurred.

The changes recommended in the report include requiring employees to use only government-issued email accounts for official communications. It also suggests delivering copies of confidential documents in tamper-resistant, sealed packaging to maintain a secure chain of custody.

According to the report, when no staff are present to receive confidential documents delivered to justices’ offices, they are slid under the door or left in front of the door if it doesn’t fit underneath. The report recommends no longer leaving sensitive documents unattended outside an office door.

Ziegler retained three retired police detectives to conduct the investigation since the court doesn’t have an independent law enforcement agency of its own. A court spokesperson told WisPolitics the investigation cost $165,740.

Following the report’s release, Director of State Courts Audrey Skwierawski announced the creation of a task force to review the report’s recommendations and propose steps to reduce the risk of a similar leak in the future.