Justice Alito cancels conference appearance days after abortion ruling leak

Justice Samuel Alito canceled an appearance at a judicial conference due to begin on Thursday, days after a draft decision he wrote indicating that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked, Reuters reports.

The big picture: Alito, one of the conservative justices on the court, authored the leaked document, which said that "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start," Politico reports.

• Chief Justice John Roberts later confirmed the authenticity of the document and opened an investigation into the leak.
• A Supreme Court spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that Alito was not attending the conference.

Details: Alito was scheduled to appear at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' judicial conference, Reuters reports.

• He is the justice assigned to hear emergency appeals from the 5th Circuit, which includes the New Orleans-based federal appeals court and district courts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, Reuters writes.