SCOTUS Justices Report 2025 Travel, Gifts, Royalties in Disclosures
Supreme Court justices reported 2025 travel gifts and over $2 million in royalties and teaching income.
Why it matters: Transparency on justices’ outside income and gifts matters for monitoring judicial ethics and conflicts of interest. Legal professionals tracking ethics compliance gain insight from these detailed disclosures amid ongoing debates about Supreme Court conduct.
- Justice Sonia Sotomayor received $4,333 in concert tickets from Rimas Entertainment during an August 2025 trip to Puerto Rico.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson earned more than $1.1 million in royalties from her 2024 memoir, Lovely One.
- Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch reported $849,000 and about $300,000 respectively in book royalties; Gorsuch also earned $30,000 teaching.
- Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Kavanaugh, and Justice Thomas earned between $18,000 and $33,000 from law school teaching roles; Justice Samuel Alito received an extension to file his disclosure.
The 2025 financial disclosures released by the Supreme Court reveal justices’ outside earnings, travel gifts, and other financial activities. Justice Sonia Sotomayor reported receiving $4,333 in concert tickets from Rimas Entertainment during a private August 2025 trip to Puerto Rico. These gifts add nuance to understanding what types of non-public benefits justices accept.
Book royalties generate significant outside income. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reported earning over $1.1 million in royalties in 2025 from her 2024 memoir Lovely One. Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s royalties from Listening to the Law totaled $849,000, while Justice Neil Gorsuch earned roughly $300,000 in royalties plus $30,000 from teaching at George Mason University law school.
Several justices supplement income through teaching: Chief Justice John Roberts earned $25,000 at New England Law; Justice Brett Kavanaugh reported $33,000 from the University of Notre Dame Law School; and Justice Clarence Thomas earned $18,000 at Catholic University of America.
Justice Samuel Alito was granted an extension to submit his 2025 financial disclosures, consistent with prior years.
These reports come amid growing scrutiny of Supreme Court ethics. As noted in a recent Axios report, these disclosures offer one of the few windows into justices’ outside income, gifts, and financial relationships. Legal professionals should watch how these transparency efforts influence ongoing ethics debates and compliance monitoring relating to judicial conduct.
Not all justices reported significant outside income beyond these examples, highlighting variability in financial activity and gifting across the bench.
By the numbers:
- $1.1M — Jackson’s royalties from her memoir in 2025
- $849,000 — Barrett’s book royalties reported for 2025
- $4,333 — Value of concert tickets Sotomayor received as gifts
Yes, but: Justice Samuel Alito’s disclosure delay continues a pattern, which some argue reduces transparency despite overall progress in reporting.
What's next: Expect further scrutiny of Supreme Court outside income and ethics reforms as public and legal community pressure mounts through 2026.