Biden-Nominee Supreme Court Justice Reveals She Received Gifts Worth Thousands of Dollars

By Mark Sherman and Jessica Gresko - The Associated Press

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson revealed Wednesday that she received a $1,200 floral arrangement from Oprah Winfrey, and $6,580 worth of designer clothes for a magazine photo shoot when she took office as the first black justice on the high court.

Details of the gifts Jackson, who was nominated to the post by President Joe Biden, received were among the reports provided by most members of the Supreme Court in their annual tax returns, which provide a partial view of their finances. The reports were released Wednesday.

However, the most anticipated report — from Justice Clarence Thomas, who has come under scrutiny for receiving gifts from a Republican donor, which the justice had not previously disclosed — was not among the documents filed.

Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito asked for an extension of up to 90 days to file their briefs.

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during a ceremony in Cutler Bay, in Miami-Dade County, Florida, March 6, 2023.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The gifts given to Thomas, valued at several hundred thousand dollars, from Republican donor Harlan Crow have prompted calls for ethics reform of the nation's highest court. It was not clear why both judges needed more time.

Once a year, judges do what other federal magistrates do and deliver a report on their finances. They are supposed to disclose paid travel, outside income, investments, significant gifts, and their spouses' sources of income.

Among Wednesday's reports, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she received $150,000 for the rights to two children's books last year and another $12,000 in payments for possible stage and video versions of Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You. The book, dedicated to children ages 4 to 8, introduces readers to the reality of children who have been diagnosed with diabetes, a condition Sotomayor considers "a life challenge." Sotomayor was diagnosed with diabetes when she was a child.

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Sotomayor, the Supreme Court's first Latina justice, has received more than $3 million in royalties and advance payments for her books, including the memoir My Beloved World.

Less than two months after Jackson joined the court in late June, he appeared in a Vogue magazine story, which was first published in the online edition. In a photo accompanying the text taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz, Jackson wears a blue jacket and a dark dress by designer Oscar de la Renta. A second image shows Jackson wearing an Aliette Carmelite jacket.

The report did not specify the size or composition of the floral gift given to him by television host and journalist Oprah Winfrey.

Supreme Court justices received a salary of $285,400 this year, except for Chief Justice John Roberts, whose salary was $298,500.

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Other judges who reported outside income included Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who received a total of $30,000 for law school classes. Barrett lectured at Notre Dame, his former employer and university, while Gorsuch and Kavanaugh taught at George Mason University.

The increased focus on the Supreme Court's ethics stems from a series of reports that revealed Thomas has for years received a series of undisclosed gifts, including foreign trips, from Crow.

The Republican donor is a wealthy businessman who supports conservative causes. Crow also bought a house in Georgia where Thomas' mother continues to live and paid for a two-year private school tuition for a boy Thomas and his wife, Ginni, have raised.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks at Tufts University, September 12, 2019.Getty Images

Supreme Court justices do not have a binding code of ethics and have resisted the idea of adopting one or having it imposed on them by Congress. The nine justices recently signed an ethics statement that Roberts delivered to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Roberts recently acknowledged that judges can do more to address concerns about ethical issues.

[Justice Clarence Thomas explains why he failed to report trips paid for by a conservative billionaire]

New reporting guidance adopted by the federal judicial branch in March makes clear that any means of transportation provided to judges must be disclosed in all cases. Meals, lodging and entertainment received as "personal hospitality of any individual" do not have to be reported if it is in a personal or family residence.