Sonia Sotomayor is a name that colleges and libraries can use to attract a high-profile guest speaker. She rose from the Bronx’s poverty to become the Supreme Court of the United States.

She has also benefited from the hundreds and sometimes thousands of books that schools have purchased over the years.

Sotomayor’s staff often urged public institutions to purchase her children’s book or memoir, which has earned her more than $3.7 million in earnings since joining the court. The Associated Press obtained details of these events, which were largely hidden from public view, through more than 100 requests for public records. The resultant tens and thousands of pages offer a rare glimpse at Sotomayor, her fellow justices, and their lives beyond official duties.

The documents in her case reveal that taxpayer-funded staff performed tasks for the justice’s book ventures. Workers from other branches of the government are prohibited from performing these tasks. When it comes to promoting Sotomayor’s literary career, she is able to do things that other government officials are not allowed to because the Supreme Court has no formal code of ethics. The nine justices can write and enforce the rules they want.

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Kedric Payne is a former deputy director of the Office of Congressional Ethics, and the current general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, a nonpartisan watchdog organization. The problem with the Supreme Court is that no one is there to tell you if this is wrong.

Staffers of the Supreme Court have been heavily involved in organizing speeches intended to sell books. This is a conduct that is prohibited by ethics rules for members of Congress or the executive branch who are forbidden to use government resources including staff for personal financial gain. Judges of lower federal courts are also told not to “lend their prestige as judges to advance” “their private interests”.

The Supreme Court stated in a press release that it works closely with justices and staff to make sure they “comply with judicial ethical guidance for such visits.”

The court stated that “when (Sotomayor is) invited to participate in an organized book program, Chambers staff will recommend the number of books to be ordered by an organization based on the expected attendance of attendees. This way they don’t disappoint those who expect to find books at the event.”

The documents obtained show that the conduct of the justices spans both their conservative and liberal split. Appearances by the justices, in addition to book sales, were also used as a way to raise money for schools. These events often included major contributors. The justices used their position to attract partisan activities.

As Sotomayor toured the country in 2019 to promote her children’s book “Just Ask!,” officials from Portland, Oregon libraries and community colleges jumped at an opportunity to host a special event.

They worked long hours to accommodate the changing requests of Sotomayor’s court staff. As the cost of hosting this event increased almost ten-fold, an aide to Sotomayor sent out an email with another, more urgent concern. She claimed that the organizers had not purchased enough copies of Sotomayor’s book. Attendees were required to buy or possess the book in order to be able to meet Sotomayor following her speech.

Anh Le wrote to staffers of the Multnomah County Library that 250 books were not enough for an event where 1,000 people would be attending. Families buy multiple copies and they will be disappointed if the required book is sold out.

This was not a one-off. While Sotomayor was preparing for commencement at the University of California Davis Law School, her staff encouraged officials to buy copies of autographed books as part of the event. The staff proposed a book signing before a visit to University of Wisconsin.

Clemson, a South Carolina university, offered to purchase 60 copies of her memoir before an appearance in 2017. Sotomayor’s staff pointed out that most schools ordered around 400. Michigan State University invited Sotomayor on campus in 2017 and spent over $100,000 to buy copies of “My Beloved World” to give to first-year students. The books were sent to the Supreme Court where they were signed by Sotomayor and taken to her chambers.

Sotomayor’s salary is $285.400 this year. She is not the only one who earns money from writing books. These incomes are exempted from the court’s $30,000 limit on annual outside pay. According to emails and records reviewed by AP, Sotomayor has been the only justice to use publicly sponsored travel as a way to increase book sales.

These promotional efforts could further damage the Supreme Court’s reputation by elevating an individual justice over the institution, according to J. Michael Luttig. He is a former federal appellate court judge and has pushed the justices towards adopting a formal code.

“I never thought that Supreme Court Justices should write books as a way to supplement their incomes,” said Luttig. He was a candidate for the Supreme Court under President George W. Bush. The appearance that the Court will suffer at the expense of its reputation if individual justices are promoted over the Court is inevitable.

Emails show that Sotomayor’s publisher Penguin Random House also played a part in organizing her lectures, sometimes urging public institutions to buy a certain number of copies, or asking attendees to purchase books in order to get tickets. Sotomayor has not recused herself from several cases in which the publisher was involved.

In a press release, the Supreme Court stated that Justice Sotomayor “would have recused herself from cases where Penguin Random House was involved due to her close relationship and continued association with the publisher.” The Supreme Court said that “an inadvertent oversight failed to bring Penguin Random House’s involvement in several cases into her awareness; these cases were ultimately not selected for review.” The conflict-checking procedures at Chambers have been modified.”

The person who spoke on behalf of Sotomayor insisted that they remain anonymous to discuss her book deals. They said that Sotomayor has not and will never profit from the sales of her memoir, beyond the $3.1m advance she received. To do so, it would be necessary to purchase hundreds of thousands more books, which is more than twice the amount of books purchased to date.

Sotomayor continues to earn royalties, at least $400 000 since 2019, from the sales of her children’s books, such as “Just Ask!