[pattisapu]

Oh of course -- I just meant that I can envision a scenario where a judge is essentially writing out a thought-experiment as he or she is trying to figure out how to rule on a case -- and then that is leaked, etc.

Even if it's a late-stage draft that's leaked, that comes with its own host of problems.

Imagine a world where drafts are trotted out by lawyers seeking to argue their interpretation of an old opinion. "The Court originally was going to hold something like my opponent suggests, but that bit got deleted, your honor!"

That would be another level of the problem of what we might call "arguing the changelog," using pieces of floor debate transcripts in the legislative history of a statute.

Justice Scalia analogized that to "entering a crowded room at a cocktail party, and looking over the heads of the guests for your friends."

And that's a concern on top of the potential for a chilling effect on the judiciary.