Financial Disclosures Released: Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's First Term Garnered Over $8,300 In Eye-Opening Gifts

Justice Jackson received designer clothes worth over $6,500 from Vogue Magazine for her photo shoot in the September 2022 issue, where she was photographed near the Lincoln Memorial. She also received a floral arrangement worth $1,200 from Oprah Winfrey and a painting worth nearly $600. Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. were given extensions on filing their financial disclosures, with Justice Thomas under scrutiny for his friendship with GOP mega-donor Harlan Crow.

While some court watchers believe Justice Jackson's gifts are typical for a first-term justice, others find them unusual. During her first term, Justice Sonia Sotomayor received artwork and a gift certificate for a spa, among other presents, totaling around $4,400, a few thousand dollars lower than what Justice Jackson received. However, Adam Feldman, a Supreme Court scholar and creator of the EmpiricalSCOTUS blog, said these are typical gifts, though justices don't usually disclose floral arrangements.

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Josh Blackman, a South Texas College of Law professor, noted that Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not receive designer clothing from a magazine spread when she took the bench in 2020. Instead, the magazine wrote about Justice Barrett in an article titled: "Does Amy Coney Barrett Believe Life Begins at Fertilization?" Mr. Blackman said the photo of the justice that accompanied the report was not the most flattering. He added that Justice Jackson's gifts are a bit unusual, as she has been given the royal treatment.

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Justice Jackson is the first Black female to serve on the high court, sworn in last July after Justice Stephen G. Breyer retired. Justice Sotomayor and Justice Neil M. Gorsuch were the only justices to disclose book royalties on their forms, with Justice Sotomayor receiving nearly $150,000 from her book deals. In contrast, Justice Gorsuch only received a couple of hundred dollars.

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June 10, 2023

Justice Thomas has come under intense scrutiny over gifts. ProPublica reported that Mr. Crow paid private school tuition at Hidden Lake Academy and Randolph-Macon Academy for Justice Thomas' great-nephew, whom the justice took in to raise at age 6. According to ProPublica, the tuition total could have cost more than $150,000.

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Justice Thomas did not disclose the payments in his financial disclosure forms, and the news outlet suggested that he runs afoul of the ethical standards required of a federal judge. ProPublica also reported in April that Justice Thomas did not disclose that he took multiple luxury vacations with Mr. Crow throughout their friendship or that Mr. Crow purchased the home of Justice Thomas' mother, even though she continued to reside there. Justice Thomas and Mr. Crow have defended their friendship and said they don't discuss business before the Supreme Court.