On Tuesday, June 17, eight out of the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court disclosed their personal annual financial reports detailing external income and gifts received in 2024, in accordance with mandatory requirements for certain high-ranking government officials. Justice Samuel Alito was granted a 90-day extension, as reported by the court.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson revealed that she received a $2,068,750 advance payment from Penguin Random House for her memoir “Lovely One” last year and a $893,750 advance payment in 2023. The book narrates her experience as the first African American woman appointed as a Supreme Court Justice.
Her report indicated that the publisher reimbursed her expenses for over ten book promotion events nationwide since the memoir’s launch in August.
Justice Neil Gorsuch disclosed over $250,000 in book royalty income, while Justice Sonia Sotomayor reported nearly $74,000 in royalties and a $60,000 advance payment for a new children’s book set to be published in September.
Some justices reported income from teaching positions at law schools. Gorsuch taught a two-week course in Porto, Portugal for George Mason University in July 2024, earning $30,379.
Financial documents revealed that Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett each received $31,815 from the University of Notre Dame Law School, with Kavanaugh’s teaching assignment in October 2024 and Barrett’s in August 2024.
Chief Justice John Roberts taught a two-week course at New England Law School, a private law school in Boston, jointly with the University of Galway in Ireland in July 2024. However, his compensation was not listed in the 2024 report and was paid in February 2025.
Similarly to last year, Justice Alito received a 90-day extension. In his previous disclosure, he noted receiving $900 concert tickets from German royalty Gloria von Thurn und Taxis in 2023.
Justice Elena Kagan reported reimbursable expenses for a speech at New York University.
Justice Clarence Thomas faced criticism and scrutiny for not disclosing income from book publishing contracts and teaching positions in his annual financial report. Following the revelation of undisclosed luxury travel and associations with wealthy sponsors in 2023, the Supreme Court enacted its first set of guidelines to regulate professional ethical conduct.
Critics and some Democratic members of Congress argue that the ethical guidelines fall short in promoting full transparency and fail to establish enforcement mechanisms, leaving the decision on recusal in cases up to the justices themselves.
(*This article was based on reports from Reuters and Courthouse News Service.)