The financial disclosure forms for Supreme Court justices revealed that members earned a total of $1.5 million in book income last year, went on previously undisclosed trips dating back to 2019, and scored free concert tickets to see Beyonce, according to documents released Friday by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the most recent appointee nominated by President Joe Biden, earned the most from book sales with a $893,750 advance for her memoir, followed by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who said he earned $340,000 after the recent announcement of his yet-to-be-published “legal memoir.” Justices Neil Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor also reported receiving book income from HarperCollins Publishers and Penguin Random House, respectively, according to a Washington Examiner review of recent disclosure forms.
Jackson also detailed that she received four tickets from Beyonce valued at $3,711.84, and she received artwork for her chambers from Lonnie Holley, Dr. Kathi Earles-Ross, and Howard University scholars for a combined value of $12,500.
Meanwhile, Sotomayor also dabbled in art and creativity by earning $1,879 from Fred Rogers Productions for a voiceover performance on an episode of the animated show Alma’s Way, a show about a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx.
Other justices reported income from teaching opportunities at various colleges. Gorsuch earned the most in this category with a $29,798 payment from teaching at George Mason University, in addition to Kavanaugh earning $25,000 from the University of Notre Dame Law School. Justice Amy Coney Barrett received $14,947 from Notre Dame.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan had perhaps the most uneventful disclosure forms this year, with neither reporting any gifts nor teaching opportunities.
Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed receiving a photo album worth $2,000 from Terence and Barbara Giroux. Terence Giroux was executive director of the Horatio Alger Association, a nonprofit organization that gives scholarships to low-income students. Thomas is an honorary member of the society’s board of directors.
Thomas’s filing also included an amendment to his 2019 disclosure involving a cruise he took in Bali, Indonesia, aboard GOP megadonor Harlan Crow‘s yacht and a trip with Crow to California. Thomas said that Crow covered the cost of food and lodging. In April 2023, Thomas became the target of extensive ProPublica reports accusing the justice of failing to report his trips with Crow, which Democrats have used in a campaign to undermine the legitimacy of the high court’s conservative majority.
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After Thomas was prodded over the trips, he issued a statement saying he was previously advised that he didn’t need to report his trips with Crow, his personal friend, and has since made efforts to disclose those vacations in recent forms.
Justice Samuel Alito was the only justice to ask for a 90-day extension to file his form. All of the other high court members’ forms released on Friday were dated May 15.
