Beyoncé Treats Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to Concert Tickets: Financial Disclosure Surprise!

Beyoncé provided Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson with four tickets to her concert last year, according to financial disclosure forms released Friday. These forms also revealed significant book deal payments for Jackson and fellow Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Sonia Sotomayor in 2023.

Jackson reported a notable $893,750 payment from a book publisher, while other justices disclosed income from published or upcoming books. Despite some controversy surrounding these deals, they remain within legal bounds as book income is exempt from the cap on outside earnings for Supreme Court justices and government officials, which is around $30,000.

Jackson, part of the court’s liberal faction, received compensation from Penguin Random House, her publisher for an upcoming memoir.

Kavanaugh, a conservative justice who revealed his authorship of a memoir, detailed a $340,000 payment from the Javelin Group agency.

Gorsuch, also releasing a book this year, declared royalty earnings totaling $250,000.

Book deals are typically disbursed in stages, meaning the total financial gain justices receive from their publications won’t be fully disclosed for several years.

In 2022, Justice Amy Coney Barrett disclosed a $425,000 advance for her book, which garnered some scrutiny. However, in the latest report, she did not list any additional income from that agreement.

Sotomayor, known for her children’s books, received two portions of royalty payments from Random House: $47,704.63 in May 2023 and $39,079.59 in December of the same year.

Gifts and travel disclosed in financial reports.

Jackson disclosed receiving Beyoncé concert tickets valued at $3,711.84, meeting the requirement for reporting gifts exceeding $480.

Artist Lonnie Holley presented Jackson with artwork for her chambers, valued at $10,000. Additionally, she received artwork valued at $2,500 from Dr. Kathi Earles-Ross and others.

Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged receiving two photo albums valued at $2,000 from Terrence and Barbara Giroux. Terrence Giroux, the executive director emeritus of the Horatio Alger Association, shares membership with Thomas in this prestigious philanthropic organization.

The annual disclosures, mandated by law, offer only a glimpse into the financial picture of justices and lower court judges. Nonetheless, they’ve garnered significant attention in recent times due to ethics controversies involving private jet travel and luxury vacations accepted by some justices.

Several justices reported travel, both domestic and international, funded by law schools and external legal organizations. For example, Gorsuch disclosed trips to Lisbon, Portugal, and London, England, for educational programs with George Mason University and the Federalist Society, respectively. Kavanaugh and Barrett also traveled to London in the previous year, accompanied by the University of Notre Dame.

Others detailed domestic travels, including Justice Elena Kagan, who was reimbursed for a trip to Notre Dame in Indiana for a speaking engagement in September. Sotomayor received reimbursement for journeys to Los Angeles for an award ceremony and to Harvard University for a moot court session.

The most recent disclosures also shed light on the additional earnings justices received from various side ventures. Some justices generated income through teaching and rental properties, while Sotomayor earned compensation for a voice-acting role in an animated series.

Gorsuch earned $29,798.20 last year for his teaching role at George Mason University, while Kavanaugh’s position as a teacher at Notre Dame Law School brought him $25,000.

Barrett received $14,947.50 last year from Notre Dame, where she works as an adjunct professor. This amount is significantly lower than the nearly $30,000 she reported in teaching income from Notre Dame in her previous annual disclosures.

For her voiceover work on the animated TV series “Alma’s Way,” Sotomayor earned $1,879.16.

Additionally, Sotomayor reported rental income from properties in New York and Florida, while Chief Justice John Roberts disclosed rental earnings from a cottage in Maine and another cottage he co-owns in Ireland. Thomas listed rental income from a property in Nebraska, which is owned through an LLC named “Ginger Holdings,” in his wife’s home state.

Kagan, on the other hand, reported earning somewhere between $15,001 to $50,000 last year by renting out a parking space in Washington, DC.