Civics 101
by Thera Martin
Just two weeks I wrote a Civics column that reviewed the basic Ethics Rules for U.S Supreme Court Justices and their public behavior. What energized me to focus on Ethics Rules was the recent action by Justice Alito and or his wife related to flags associated with the Donald Trump Mega movement. Also, Justice Clarence Thomas always gives the public and the news media something to look at, once again proving him to be unfit for office as a Justice.
However, that one column, two weeks ago, has to be updated. More things have come to the public eye in the last two weeks that should concern the American public about who our Supreme Court Justices are and why some of them seem to have behavior that lends itself to being flippant at best and possibly criminal at worst.
The question is, Where should Supreme Court justices draw the line? The way I read and understood the Ethics Rules for Supreme Court Justices, they are not supposed to accept any gifts or do anything that could appear that they favor a specific person or organization, political or otherwise. Period.
Here’s what’s actually been happening amongst some of the Justices over the last 12 months or so.
Justice Clarence Thomas has just acknowledged additional trips he took paid for by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. He’s been criticized for not reporting top-of-the-line trips paid for by Crow and others over many years. Crow reportedly gave Thomas and his wife quite a few trips over the years.
Another Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, has reported earning almost $900,000 in advance for her upcoming book. She also reported accepting four tickets to a Beyoncé concert valued at $3,700 from the singer herself. And Ketanji Brown Jackson wasn’t the only one who got a lucrative book deal.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh reported being paid $340,000 by the conservative Regnery Publishing company. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor reported royalty income of $250,000 and nearly $90,000, respectively.
Supreme Court justices earn $298,500 this year, except for Chief Justice John Roberts, who earns $312,200.
The only justice whose report was not available Friday is Samuel Alito, who received an extension for up to 90 days, as he does most years. The justice has separately been under scrutiny over flags that flew outside homes he owned. He has said they were raised by his wife.
Jackson, the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, signed a book contract soon after taking her seat in 2022. The book, “Lovely One,” is to be published in September. The total value of her book deal has not been publicly disclosed, but it is expected to rival, if not exceed, what Sotomayor was paid for her memoir, “My Beloved World,” more than $3 million.
Of the Justices thus far, only Roberts, Alito, and Justice Elena Kagan have not cut book deals. Thomas received a $1.5 million advance and Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2022 reported receiving $425,000 for a yet-to-be-released book, part of a reported $2 million deal she signed soon after joining the court in 2020.
From where I sit, something just feels very tainted about our current U.S. Supreme Court. None of them, none of them, in my opinion, should be accepting “gifts.”
**********
Thank you for reading this article on scoopusamedia.com. To read additional articles of interest, please subscribe to Scoop USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75.00 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital and Vizion) are $90. (52 weeks/1 year)
