US Supreme Court justices disclose income from book deals and teaching
WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received a book advance of more than $2 million for her bestselling memoir, and other justices reported lucrative law school teaching positions in annual financial disclosure forms released on Tuesday.
Eight of the nine justices disclosed their 2024 outside income and gifts, as required for certain senior government officials. Justice Samuel Alito was granted a 90-day extension, according to the court.
The filings showed the outside income, gifts and investment transactions for the justices last year. The filings are closely watched as the justices in recent years have come under scrutiny over ethics questions following revelations that some of them failed to report luxury trips, including on private jets, and real estate transactions.
As in recent years, the disclosures showed the lucrative nature of book publishing for members of the nation's highest judicial body.
Jackson said she received a $2,068,750 book advance last year from Penguin Random House for her memoir "Lovely One." That comes after a previously reported 2023 advance of $893,750 for the book chronicling her ascent as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
She also reported being reimbursed by her publisher last year for more than a dozen book events across the country beginning in August when her memoir hit bookshelves.
Justice Neil Gorsuch reported book royalty income of more than $250,000, while Justice Sonia Sotomayor reported nearly $74,000 in royalties, as well as a $60,000 advance for a new children's book, set for release in September.
Some of the justices reported income from law school teaching roles.
Gorsuch reported an income of $30,379 from George Mason University for teaching a roughly two-week course in July 2024 in Porto, Portugal. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett each received $31,815 from the University of Notre Dame Law School, with Kavanaugh having a teaching stint in October 2024 and Barrett having one in August 2024, according to their filings.
Chief Justice John Roberts co-taught a two-week course in Galway, Ireland in July 2024 for New England Law, a private Boston-based law school, but his compensation was not reported in his 2024 disclosure because he was paid in February 2025.
Just like last year, Alito was granted a 90-day extension. His disclosure last year reported receiving concert tickets in 2023 worth $900 from Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, a German aristocrat.
The justices in 2023 adopted their first code of conduct governing their ethical behavior following revelations of undisclosed luxury trips and hobnobbing with wealthy benefactors.
Critics and some congressional Democrats have said the ethics code does not go far enough to promote transparency, continuing to leave decisions to recuse from cases to the justices themselves and providing no mechanism of enforcement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
George Santos ripped for ulterior motive after emerging from oblivion with pro-Trump message
Convicted fraudster and former Congressman George Santos released a video praising President Donald Trump 's leadership as the U.S. teeters on the brink of war with Iran. Breaking his silence after he was sentenced to over seven years in prison for wire fraud and identity theft, Santos, 36, took to social media to speak out against critics of the commander-in-chief amid the Israel-Iran conflict. 'Hey folks its been real, and its also been a minute,' the convicted former congressman says in a selfie video posted on X. 'I'm kind of here just because I needed to stand by President Trump for this, because it's important to me.' Santos shared in the video that he learned from the Iranian community in the new York district he used to represent all about the country's revolution and the overthrow of the shah in 1979. 'The Ayatollah is a regime of terror, of suppression, of lack of liberties. I just want to remind everybody President Trump is doing the right thing in assisting Israel in clearing the Ayatollah and eradicating them from the face of the earth.' 'It's time to free Iranians. It's time to allow Iranians to be free again and to eliminate the threat of nuclear terror in the Middle East.' His message seemed to be a direct hit at some of Trump's MAGA fans including ex-Fox News star Tucker Carlson and others who have warned him against directly attacking Iran. But the 95-second long video from home may have had another motivation, some astute X observers mentioned, like earning the prison-bound Santos a pardon from the president. 'Pardon hunting,' one user commented on Santos' video. Another wrote: 'Might as well go hard for the pardon, nothing to lose at this point.' 'Wait, I thought you were in jail?' commented someone else. Santos was ordered by a New York court to surrender by July 25. 'No more stop,' Santos defended the president in the video. 'This is a misguided attack on a man who's trying to make the world a safer place.' 'Iran must be dealt with with force,' he added. 'It is time, and high time we take action.' 'I stand with Israel for fighting this oppressive regime, and I stand with all of those involved in ridding the earth of this cancer that is the Ayatollah.' The fraudster pledged to stand by Trump whatever he decides. During Santos' case earlier this year, the prosecution painted the former lawmaker as a bombastic serial liar who eventually turned to criminality to support his expensive lifestyle that was built on audacious fabrications. Santos would go on tirades on social media, claiming he did not commit crimes that he admitted in court and lashing out at his detractors. Some of the evidence included how Santos called Department of Justice a 'cabal of pedophiles.' It also included social media posts in which he denied using campaign funds to make purchases at Hermès, despite having done so. 'Santos did use campaign contributions made to Redstone Strategies LLC to make luxury purchases at, among other stores, Hermès,' the prosecution argued. The former congressman was also ordered to pay at least $373,749.97 in restitution and forfeit over $200,000, according to a plea agreement he made last year.
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made millions for writing memoir
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made millions from her memoir, financial disclosures reveal. It's no secret justices have other income streams besides their day job and those incomes are included in annual financial reports released to the public. The salaries of justices were more than $300,000 as of January, according to the Federal Judicial Center, and several of the nine have side jobs in book publishing and teaching. Jackson took home more additional non-investment income than any other justice in 2024, according to their yearly disclosures published by Fix the Court, a nonprofit that promotes transparency in the Supreme Court. She was paid an advance of $2,068,750 by Penguin Random House for her memoir titled 'Lovely One,' which came out in September 2024. Jackson was previously paid $893,750 in an advance from her publisher, which was listed on her 2023 financial report. 'Lovely One' was briefly No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It follows the life of Jackson, the first Black woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court, 'tracing her family's ascent from segregation to her confirmation on America's highest court within the span of one generation,' according to the book's description. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who has authored several books, took home a $60,000 advance for a new book expected to be released in 2026 and multiple book royalties totaling nearly $74,000 from Penguin Random House in 2024, according to her annual financial report. Sotomayor wrote a memoir titled, 'My Beloved World' that was published in 2013 as well as a few children's books. Sotomayor's new children's book titled, 'Just Shine! How to Be a Better You' will be released in September, People reported. Justice Neil Gorsuch listed a royalty income worth $250,000 from HarperCollins and $259.95 from Princeton University Press and he made more than $30,000 for teaching at George Mason University, his financial report showed. Gorsuch published his latest book titled, 'Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law' last August. Justice Samuel Alito requested an extension on his financial report. His report is expected to be released sometime this summer, according to Fix the Court.
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
Judge says government can't limit passport sex markers for many transgender, nonbinary people
A federal judge expanded a ruling Tuesday that blocked the Trump administration from enacting policy changes to sex markers on passports for many transgender and nonbinary Americans. In an executive order signed in January, the president used a narrow definition of the sexes instead of a broader conception of gender. The order says a person is male or female and it rejects the idea that someone can transition from the sex assigned at birth to another gender. U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick granted a motion to apply her earlier ruling to people who want a passport different than the male/female sex designation they were given at birth and those who want an X designation. The ruling applies only to those people who are currently without a valid passport, those whose passport is expiring within a year, and those who need to apply for a passport because theirs was lost or stolen or because they need to change their name or sex designation. Initially the ruling only applied to the six plaintiffs in the case. Last month Kobick, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, sided with the American Civil Liberties Union's motion for a preliminary injunction, which stays the action while the lawsuit plays out. It requires the State Department to allow six transgender and nonbinary people who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit to obtain passports with sex designations consistent with their gender identity. 'The Executive Order and the Passport Policy on their face classify passport applicants on the basis of sex and thus must be reviewed under intermediate judicial scrutiny,' Kobick wrote. 'That standard requires the government to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest. The government has failed to meet this standard.' In its lawsuit, the ACLU described how one woman had her passport returned with a male designation while others are too scared to submit their passports because they fear their applications might be suspended and their passports held by the State Department. Another mailed in their passport on Jan. 9 and requested a name change and to change their sex designation from male to female. That person was still waiting for their passport, the ACLU wrote in the lawsuit, and feared missing a family wedding and a botany conference this year. In response to the lawsuit, the Trump administration argued the passport policy change 'does not violate the equal protection guarantees of the Constitution.' They also contended that the president has broad discretion in setting passport policy and that plaintiffs would not be harmed by the policy, since they are still free to travel abroad.
