Federal

Leaker Accountability Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 545 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates a new federal crime for Supreme Court officers and employees who illegally leak confidential information. The bill, called the "Leaker Accountability Act of 2023," makes it illegal to publish, share or disclose confidential Supreme Court information that a person obtained through their job at the Court.

Who It Affects

Officers and employees of the Supreme Court.

Key Provisions

• Supreme Court officers and employees cannot knowingly publish, divulge, disclose or make known any confidential information they received through their job unless the law permits it (Sec. 2(a)). • A person who violates this rule can be imprisoned for up to 5 years, fined, or both (Sec. 2(a)). • Confidential information includes internal notes on cases, communications between Justices and employees about pending cases, draft opinions, final opinions not yet released to the public, and personal information about Justices that is not publicly available (Sec. 2(b)). • The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court can designate additional information as confidential before any violation occurs (Sec. 2(b)).

What Changes

A new federal law section (Section 1522) is added to Title 18 of United States Code that makes it a federal crime for Supreme Court workers to leak confidential information.

Important Definitions

Confidential information: internal notes on cases heard by the Supreme Court, any communication between a Justice and an employee about a pending case, a draft opinion, a final opinion before it is released to the public, personal information about a Justice that is not publicly available, and any other information the Chief Justice designates as confidential.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 424 To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for penalties for the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information by officers or employ- ees of the Supreme Court, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 20, 2023 Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. DONALDS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, and Mr. BABIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for pen- alties for the unauthorized disclosure of confidential in- formation by officers or employees of the Supreme Court, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Leaker Accountability 4 Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H424.IH H424 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 424 IH SEC. 2. OBSTRUCTION OF SUPREME COURT DELIBERA- 1 TIONS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 73 of title 18, United 3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 4 lowing new section: 5 ‘‘SEC. 1522. OBSTRUCTION OF SUPREME COURT DELIBERA- 6 TIONS. 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, while serving as an of- 8 ficer or employee of the Supreme Court, violates this sec- 9 tion by knowingly publishing, divulging, disclosing, or 10 making known in any manner or to any extent not author- 11 ized by law any confidential information coming to that 12 officer or employee in the course of the employment or 13 official duties of that officer or employee shall be impris- 14 oned not more than 5 years or fined under this title, or 15 both. 16 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION DEFINED.—In 17 this section, the term ‘confidential information’ includes 18 internal notes on cases heard by the Supreme Court, any 19 communication between a Justice of the Supreme Court 20 and an employee or officer of the Supreme Court or com- 21 munication between officers and employees of the Su- 22 preme Court on a matter pending before the Supreme 23 Court, a draft opinion, a final opinion prior to the date 24 on which such opinion is released to the public, personal 25 information of a Justice of the Supreme Court that is not 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H424.IH H424 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 424 IH otherwise legally available to the public, and any other in- 1 formation designated to be confidential by the Chief Jus- 2 tice of the Supreme Court prior to the date on which a 3 violation of subsection (a) occurs.’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of sections at 5 the beginning of chapter 73 of title 18, United States 6 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘1522. Obstruction of Supreme Court deliberations.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H424.IH H424 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.