Supreme Court Ethics
Supreme Court Justices' Financial Disclosures Reveal Royalties, Teaching Gigs, and Gifts, Prompting Scrutiny.
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Supreme Court financial disclosure forms released in June 2024 show Justice Sonia Sotomayor received $4,333 worth of concert tickets during a personal trip to Puerto Rico last year, according to Yahoo News. The forms also reveal that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson got four Beyoncé tickets worth $3,711 and $1,200 in flowers from Oprah Winfrey.
The annual disclosures offer a rare look at the outside income and gifts accepted by the nine justices. They show royalties, paid teaching jobs abroad, and entertainment perks — all while the Court's public approval sits near historic lows, around 41%, according to Gallup polling from late 2023.
Sotomayor and Jackson Disclose Gifts and Book Royalties
Justice Sotomayor's Puerto Rico concert tickets came while she was on a personal trip, Yahoo News reported. The tickets were valued at $4,333 and were provided by a local organization. She also reported $86,787 in book royalties from Penguin Random House in 2023, according to CNN.
Justice Jackson's disclosures were even more striking. In addition to the Beyoncé tickets and Oprah's flowers, she reported an $893,750 book advance from Penguin Random House for her memoir, 'Lovely One,' based on her 2023 financial disclosure form. Gabe Roth of the ethics watchdog Fix the Court said the gifts show "a remarkable tone-deafness" at a time when public trust in the Court is low.
Justices Earn Up to $25,000 for International Teaching Jobs
Several justices disclosed paid teaching assignments at universities. Justice Brett Kavanaugh earned $25,000 from George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett also reported income near that same $25,000 ceiling, according to NPR.
Critics have noted that George Mason University has become a go-to employer for conservative justices. The teaching assignments are legal under current rules. Justices earn a base salary between $285,000 and $298,000 per year, and outside teaching income provides an additional, permitted supplement.
Thomas Amends Old Records After Undisclosed Trips Surface
Justice Clarence Thomas used his 2023 filing to correct the record on two 2019 trips — to Bali and Monte Rio, California — paid for by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. Thomas said those trips were "inadvertently omitted" from earlier forms, The Washington Post reported. The correction came after a rule change in March 2023 requiring disclosure of stays at private resorts or on yachts.
Thomas had already faced a landmark ProPublica investigation in April 2023 that revealed decades of undisclosed luxury travel funded by Crow. Justice Samuel Alito was granted a 90-day extension and had not yet filed his 2023 forms as of late June 2024.
Disclosure Rules Tighten but Enforcement Still Absent
The Supreme Court adopted its first formal Code of Conduct in November 2023. But critics say the code has no enforcement mechanism. Senator Dick Durbin called the ongoing disclosures proof of "the desperate need for a binding code of conduct with real enforcement." The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Restoration Act is pending in the Senate but faces long odds in a Republican-controlled House.
Legal experts draw a line between small gifts and bigger financial benefits. NYU Law professor Stephen Gillers separates "cultural gifts" like concert tickets from what he calls "lifestyle subsidies" — private jets, real estate deals, or tuition payments — which carry far greater ethical weight, according to The New York Times.
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