WASHINGTON − A new round of financial disclosure reports from the Supreme Court released Wednesday shows that three of the justices were flown to Italy for conferences, three earned outside income for teaching at law schools and one received a congratulatory bouquet of flowers from Oprah Winfrey worth more than $1,000.
The annual disclosure forms, which are required by law, offer only an imprecise glimpse into the finances of the justices and other officials. This year the disclosures will be subjected to added scrutiny given a series of recent ethics scandals unfolding on the nation’s highest court, most notably involving Justice Clarence Thomas.
Both Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito requested and received extensions to file their annual disclosure, which covers income and other financial information for 2022. Alito has regularly made that request in the past.
From Oprah to Italy: What’s in the Supreme Court disclosures
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who joined the Supreme Court last year, reported receiving a “congratulatory floral arrangement” from Oprah Winfrey valued at $1,200. She also reported receiving a designer dress and jacket worn from Advance Magazine Publishers for a photo shoot by Annie Leibovitz that appeared in Vogue last summer.
- Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett all reported receiving separate trips to Italy paid for by different groups. Barrett, for instance, attended an annual meeting of the American College of Trial Lawyers in Rome. Gorsuch attended what he listed as an educational program paid for by George Mason University in Padua. New York University paid for Justice Sonia Sotomayor to travel to Edinburgh, Scotland, for a conference.
- Several justices reported outside income from teaching at law schools. Both Gorsuch and Kavanaugh reported receiving nearly $30,000 from George Mason University while Barrett reported receiving roughly the same amount from the University of Notre Dame, where she once taught as a law professor. Associate justices earned $274,200 last year.
- Others reported royalties from books, most notably Sotomayor, who reported nearly $150,000 in royalties from Penguin Random House. Sotomayor has authored several children’s books as well as a memoir. Gorsuch reported a little under $300 in royalties from Princeton University Press.
Thomas: New disclosures land as ethics scandals simmer
The disclosures are likely to receive heightened scrutiny given that the Supreme Court − and Thomas in particular − have been the subject of a series of stories about lavish travel and real estate transactions. In many ways, though, those stories have dealt more with what isn’t disclosed on the annual forms rather than what is included.
A series of stories in ProPublica this year revealed private jet trips and luxury yacht travel Thomas accepted from Harlan Crow. The GOP megadonor also purchased property from Thomas and his family – none of which was reported the forms. Earlier this week, Crow’s attorneys offered a meeting with Senate Judiciary Committee staff investigating those gifts, but Democrats on the committee are seeking a more thorough accounting.
he debate has weakened trust in the court, polls show, and prompted Chief Justice John Roberts last month to frame the criticism as an “issue of concern inside the court.”
