A report on Justice Sonia Sotomayor claimed that she earned $3.7 million in book sales since joining the Supreme Court, partially because her staff “prodded” libraries and colleges that hosted her in the past to buy her works.

The Associated Press released a report based on over 100 open records requests to public institutions where Sotomayor appeared in the past as a lecturer or guest speaker. The review shows that Sotomayor’s taxpayer-funded court staff worked to promote sales for her memoir and/or her children’s book, Just Ask, on multiple occasions.

One instance the AP flagged happened in 2019 when library and community college officials in Portland, Oregon wanted Sotomayor to hold an event with them while she was holding a book tour for Just Ask. As costs mounted for the event set-up, Sotomayor aide Anh Le emailed the Multnomah County Library and told them the event organizers didn’t buy enough copies of the book, which attendees had to have in their possession in order to meet with Sotomayor after her speech.

“For an event with 1,000 people and they have to have a copy of Just Ask to get into the line, 250 books is definitely not enough,” Le wrote. “Families purchase multiples and people will be upset if they are unable to get in line because the book required is sold out.”

Similar instances were noted when Sotomayor’s staff urged more book purchases to be made before her speaking engagements at University of California, Davis, Clemson University, and Michigan State University. Sotomayor’s staff are legally permitted to promote her book ventures where they wouldn’t be allowed to do so in other branches of government, though doing so raises questions about the code of conduct for the justices.

From the AP:

Supreme Court staffers have been deeply involved in organizing speaking engagements intended to sell books. That is conduct prohibited for members of Congress and the executive branch, who are barred under ethics rules from using government resources, including staff, for personal financial gain. Lower federal court judges are also instructed to not “lend the prestige of the judicial office to advance” their “private interests.”

In a statement, the Supreme Court said it works with the justices and their staff to ensure they are “complying with judicial ethics guidance for such visits.”

“When (Sotomayor) is invited to participate in a book program, Chambers staff recommends the number of books (for an organization to order) based on the size of the audience so as not to disappoint attendees who may anticipate books being available at an event,” the court said

The details about Sotomayor follow other reports about her colleagues on the bench that have raised questions about the ethical rules and standards for the justices. In recent months, Justice Clarence Thomas was called out for not disclosing the gifts and financial favors he accepted from billionaire donor Harlan Crow, and Justice Samuel Alito faced similar alleged ethical violations over his relationship with billionaire Paul Singer.

The report also states, “Sotomayor’s publisher, Penguin Random House, also has played a role in organizing her talks, in some cases pressing public institutions to commit to buying a specific number of copies or requesting that attendees purchase books to obtain tickets, emails show. The publisher has had several matters before the court in which Sotomayor did not recuse herself.”

“Justice Sotomayor would have recused in cases in which Penguin Random House was a party, in light of her close and ongoing relationship with the publisher,” the Supreme Court said in a statement. “An inadvertent omission failed to bring Penguin’s participation in several cases to her attention; those cases ultimately were not selected for review by the Court. Chambers’ conflict check procedures have since been changed.”

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