The Supreme Court mistakenly emailed orders to attorneys ahead of schedule. It’s the second major technical error in a year

By John Fritze, CNN

(CNN) — The Supreme Court on Friday mistakenly sent out email alerts to attorneys and others laying out which cases it would hear days before it was scheduled to do so, the latest major technical glitch to come from the high court during its busiest month of the year.

The high court acknowledged that, due to an “apparent software malfunction,” notifications about which cases would be granted or denied its review – that were not supposed to be released until Monday morning – were mistakenly distributed on Friday afternoon.

The Supreme Court normally closely guards not only its opinions but also the decisions about whether to grant or deny a case. The court’s decision to hear a case – or not – can have significant consequences for the parties involved and can move mar