Supreme Court

JONATHAN TURLEY: Chief Justice Roberts could learn from baseball great Ted Williams when it comes to leaks

The New York Times published internal memos from justices on the use of the shadow docket to issue rulings

By Jonathan Turley Fox News

Published April 19, 2026 8:06am EDT

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The legendary baseball player and manager Ted Williams once wrote a letter to Angels outfielder Jay Johnstone on improving his hitting. Among his pieces of advice was that "with two strikes, you simply have to protect the plate." 

Williams' advice on not striking out came to mind this week when another leak of confidential information rocked the Supreme Court. (The prior leak of the Dobbs decision went unsolved.) For Chief Justice John Roberts, the message is clear: it is times like these when you have to protect the plate.

Roberts, of course, is famous for his own baseball analogies. In his confirmation, he declared that "judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules. They apply them... Nobody ever went to a ballgame to see the umpire."

Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts attends President Donald Trump's remarks to a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Yet, justices do make rules not only in new precedent, but in the operation of the court system. Those rules are being broken.

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