The Supreme Court’s 2024 financial disclosures revealed that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received a massive advance exceeding $2 million from Penguin Random House for her memoir Lovely one.
The payment has raised questions among conservatives about the ethics of justices profiting from lucrative book deals while serving on the nation’s highest court.
according to Jackson’s disclosure report, the $2,068,750 advance paid in 2024 adds to nearly $900,000 she received in 2023, bringing her total earnings from the publisher to nearly $3 million over just two years.
While the Supreme Court recently adopted a formal ethics code addressing gifts and travel reimbursements, it currently places no cap on the income justices can receive from book deals or royalties.
Lovely one was published in early September 2024 and details Jackson’s family journey from a segregated America to her historic confirmation on the Supreme Court.
The book’s title references her West African birth name’s meaning, according to Fox News, per the New York Post.
Her promotional tour included stops in major cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta, where the publisher covered transportation, lodging and food expenses.
other justices have also benefited financially from book deals.
Justice Neil Gorsuch disclosed a $250,000 advance from HarperCollins for his book over Ruled, which he co-authored.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a prolific author, reported a $60,000 advance in 2024, contributing to her nearly $4 million in total book earnings over the years, BizPac Review reports.
The sizable payments to justices have fueled concerns about conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety.
Last month, Justices Barrett, Jackson, Gorsuch and Sotomayor recused themselves from a case involving Bertelsmann, the German parent company of Penguin Random House.
The justices offered no explanation for the recusals, though ethics experts suspect it was due to the company’s publishing relationship with several Supreme Court authors, according to The Post.
Conservatives erupted on X with criticism and skepticism.
Some users questioned how these book deals translate into actual sales and whether the payments represent ethical issues.
one X user wrote, “Book deals are blatant money laundering scams,” while another argued, “You can’t use your public office, cabinet, or bench for personal gain. How is it allowed to keep happening? Where is the ethics committee?”
“Who would buy a book written by a person that cannot define what a woman is?” another user asked.
The Supreme Court’s ethics code, which went into effect recently, explicitly addresses travel and gifts but remains silent on earnings from book deals, leaving this area largely unregulated.
Critics argue this gap undermines confidence in judicial impartiality, especially given the growing sums involved.
Jackson’s disclosures highlight how lucrative memoirs and book deals have become for sitting justices, a trend that critics say raises questions about whether personal profit might influence judicial behavior or public perception.
This development comes at a time when the judiciary’s role and independence are already hotly debated topics across the political spectrum.
as the debate over judicial ethics continues, questions remain about whether further reforms will be enacted to address financial earnings from private enterprises by sitting justices.
For now, Jackson’s multi-million-dollar book advances remain a focal point in discussions about ethics and accountability on the Supreme Court.
🚨JUST IN🚨
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson disclosed receiving over $2 million from her book deal with Penguin Random House.
Brown says in her financial disclosure, she was paid a $2,068,750 book advance for her 2024 memoir, “Lovely One.”
She was also reimbursed… pic.twitter.com/TxN2T4oEu7
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) June 18, 2025
