Well, the unprecedented happened. We have a SCOTUS leak, a leak in the Supreme Court. Now we know how the Court is ruling on an issue–abortion, in this case–before the Court is ready for us to know.

To be sure, there are ramifications for this that will be felt for years. We can’t even foresee most of them right now with the whole situation being far too fresh.

Yet will we start seeing ramifications right away? Over at CNN, that’s the question they ask.

When Supreme Court justices gather on May 12 for their next closed-door conference to discuss pending petitions and outstanding opinions, everything will have changed.

At their conference, secrecy is so guarded that no one else is allowed in the room. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, as the junior-most justice, is charged with opening the door if someone knocks.

But such precautions seem almost quaint now.

The court that prides itself on collegiality, independence, a devotion to protocol and process is reeling from what Chief Justice John Roberts called a betrayal of confidence “intended to undermine the integrity of our operations.” While leaks are common in the other branches of government, a leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion published by Politico in the most important abortion case in decades, is seismic.

In the coming days an investigation launched by Roberts will commence and presumably have a long-term impact that will trigger changes in protocol and add new levels of secrecy.

In the short term, however, the implications of the leak could be more serious. That’s because in the coming weeks the justices will have to resolve the abortion dispute as well as a major Second Amendment case and others dealing with immigration, religious liberty and the environment.

Sounds serious.

So what do they say the ramifications of the case will be for NYSRPA vs Bruen? Well, let’s see what they have here…

Justices are considering whether to strike down a New York gun law enacted more than a century ago that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home.

As the justices debate the issue in secret, they will decide whether to issue a broad decision holding that the right to keep and bear arms extends to the right to carry a handgun outside the home, or whether to focus more narrowly on a handful of laws that give licensing officials a large degree of discretion in deciding who gets a permit.

That’s it, folks. That’s the whole thing.

In other words, they ask the question, but they don’t have a freaking clue if it’ll do much of anything.

Frankly, I don’t see how.

Keep in mind that in most of these cases, the Court has already decided which way it’s going to go. With us expecting a decision on Bruen next month, it seems reasonable to believe they’ve already voted.

As such, the SCOTUS leak isn’t likely to have had much of an impact on how the various justices will fall on the issue. Happening after the fact, how could it?

Any other impacts from the SCOTUS leak will be after the fact and depend on how the Court handles things from here.

Unfortunately, CNN really didn’t want to get into that. It seems they thought it was a good idea to step up and remind everyone of all the other cases up for decision in hopes of…damned if I know. I don’t work for CNN. I have standards, after all.