Supreme Court financial disclosures detail flower gift from Oprah, book royalties and overseas travel
Washington CNN —
Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch were flown to Italy. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received a $1,200 “congratulatory floral arrangement” from Oprah Winfrey. And Justice Sonia Sotomayor received nearly $150,000 in book royalties from her publisher.
These are a few of the things detailed in the annual financial disclosure forms released Wednesday by seven members of the Supreme Court. The paperwork – mandated by federal law – requires members of the judiciary to publicly disclose their personal financial interests over the past year and detail income, investments, gifts and spousal salaries.
Though most of the justices released their 2022 forms on Wednesday, conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito were given extensions to release theirs, according to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Thomas has come under intense scrutiny in recent months over his decision to not disclose years of luxury travel and gifts paid for by a GOP megadonor, as well as a private real estate transaction the justice and his family made with the billionaire.
The forms that were made public Wednesday show a court that is very much on the move, with many of its members traveling far to give speeches or attend conferences on trips paid for by universities or well-funded groups.
A total of 20 trips were reported on the forms, with some justices taking more than others and at least one – Chief Justice John Roberts – reporting none at all.
Barrett’s trip to Italy in September was to deliver an address in Rome to the American College of Trial Lawyers, according to her report, while Kavanaugh’s said that he visited the city the same month to “speak and participate in (a) conference with foreign and American judges” for the University of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Gorsuch’s form said he traveled to Padua, Italy, in July to attend an “educational program” for George Mason University’s National Security Institute.
And Sotomayor was flown to Edinburgh, Scotland, in July by New York University to partake in its law school’s leadership conference, according to her form, which also said she took trips to St. Louis and Chicago at other points during the year.
Of the justices that released their forms on Wednesday, Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan reported taking the most trips – six apiece – with Kagan mostly traveling to US cities to deliver speeches to universities. Her one foreign trip was to Canada in September to deliver a speech to the University of Toronto.
Meanwhile, Jackson’s form detailed some notable gifts that the first Black woman to serve on the court received last year, including the flowers from Winfrey and a $580 painting.
The liberal justice also reported a $6,580 designer dress and jacket she received from the company that publishes Vogue magazine for a photo shoot she did with the publication. The magazine published a story about her in August that included photos of her wearing an Aliétte coat and Oscar de la Renta number.
No other justice reported receiving gifts. Federal rules require the disclosure of gifts valued at $415 or higher.
Some of the justices also reported receiving outside income, including Sotomayor, who noted on her forms that she was paid nearly $150,000 in book royalties from Penguin Random House. Sotomayor has published a number of children’s books through the years, including one that was released in 2022.
Several of the justices also reported income from teaching gigs, including Gorsuch, who received nearly $30,000 from George Mason University; Kavanaugh, who was paid nearly $30,000 from GMU’s Antonin Scalia Law School; and Barrett, who received just under $30,000 from Notre Dame Law School.
Roberts reported rental income from properties he owns in Maine and Knocklong, Ireland, while Sotomayor reported rental income from property she owns in New York.
Kagan also reported rental income, albeit from a much smaller property – a parking space in a Washington, DC, building.
This story and headline have been updated with additional information.
Source: CNN
