Less than a year after a leaker sent journalists an unreleased draft of a high-profile U.S. Supreme Court decision, North Dakota’s top judicial panel has proposed legislation that would criminalize the disclosure of unpublished court rulings. A committee of lawmakers thinks it’s a bad idea.
A bill backed by the North Dakota Supreme Court would make it a Class A misdemeanor to intentionally disclose a pending court decision to an unauthorized person. The penalty, punishable by up to 360 days in prison and a $3,000 fine, would apply to the leaker, not the receiver of the information.