Justice Sotomayor’s staff pushed her book sales, raising ethics questions

KARAH RUCKER: THE SPOTLIGHT CONTINUES TO HOVER OVER SUPREME COURT JUSTICES AND WHAT CONSTITUTES AS ETHICAL BEHAVIOR FROM THE BENCH. AN INVESTIGATION BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REVEALS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR HAS MADE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM BOOKS SHE HAS WRITTEN –AT LEAST IN PART DUE TO HER STAFF PUSHING COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES, AND LIBRARIES TO BUY HER BOOKS IN BULK FOR GUEST SIGNINGS AND SPEECHES.

SOTOMAYOR IS JUST THE LATEST MEMBER OF THE HIGH COURT TO HAVE A LAYER OF HER HISTORY PEELED BACK BY THE MEDIA –WITH BOTH CONSERVATIVE AND LIBERAL JUSTICES BEING LOOKED INTO FOR ANY QUESTIONABLE ETHICS DECISIONS THEY’VE BEEN LEGALLY ALLOWED TO MAKE BECAUSE OF WHAT CRITICS CALL A LACK OF RESTRICTION.

SOTOMAYOR’S COURT STAFF IS TAXPAYER FUNDED –AND WAS FOUND HELPING THE JUSTICE’S PERSONAL BOOK VENTURES BY PROMOTING HER LITERARY CAREER.

ACCORDING TO AP –STAFFERS WERE FOUND TO BE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN ORGANIZING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS INTENDED TO SELL BOOKS FOR PERSONAL FINANCIAL GAIN.

SOMETHING THAT IS TYPICALLY PROHIBITED  FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS –YET IT IS NOT FOR THE HIGH COURT.

HERE’S SOME OF WHAT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS UNCOVERED THROUGH MORE THAN 100 PUBLIC RECORD REQUESTS.

IN 2019 – SOTOMAYOR WAS PROMOTING A NEW CHILDREN’S BOOK “JUST ASK!”.

A PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE  AND LIBRARY BOOKED THE JUSTICE TO HOST AN EVENT.

SOTOMAYOR STAFFERS EMAILED THE LIBRARY AS THE EVENT NEARED –

CONCERNED THE HOSTING PARTY DIDN’T ORDER ENOUGH OF HER BOOKS.

QUOTE – “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. FAMILIES PURCHASE MULTIPLES AND PEOPLE WILL BE UPSET IF THEY ARE UNABLE TO GET IN LINE BECAUSE THE BOOK REQUIRED IS SOLD OUT.”

THIS WASN’T AN ISOLATED PUSH FOR A HIGHER PRE-ORDER.

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA –SOTOMAYOR WAS TO GIVE A COMMENCEMENT SPEECH. HER STAFF – SUGGESTED THE SCHOOL BUY COPIES OF SIGNED BOOKS IN CONNECTION WITH THE EVENT.

BEFORE VISITING THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN – STAFF ALSO SUGGESTED A BOOK SIGNING EVENT. IN 2017 AT CLEMSON UNIVERSITY – SCHOOL OFFICIALS OFFERED TO BUY 60 SIGNED COPIES AHEAD OF AN APPEARANCE BY THE JUSTICE –

HER STAFF SUGGESTED MOST SCHOOLS ORDER AROUND 400.

IN 2018 – MICHIGAN STATE SPENT MORE THAN 100 THOUSAND DOLLARS ON SIGNED BOOKS. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REACHED OUT TO THE SUPREME COURT –

QUESTIONING WHETHER THIS WAS ETHICALLY OKAY. TO WHICH THEY RESPONDED – YES.

 “JUDICIAL ETHICS GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT A JUDGE MAY SIGN COPIES OF HIS OR HER WORK, WHICH MAY ALSO BE AVAILABLE FOR SALE, BUT THERE SHOULD BE NO REQUIREMENT OR SUGGESTION THAT ATTENDEES ARE REQUIRED TO PURCHASE BOOKS IN ORDER TO ATTEND. ASKING WHETHER ATTENDEES WERE REMINDED THAT THEY MUST EITHER BUY OR BRING A BOOK IN ORDER TO ENTER A SIGNING LINE AT AN EVENT WOULD IN NO WAY CONFLICT WITH THE STANDARD OUTLINED ABOVE.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAID IT WASN’T JUST SOTOMAYOR WHO LEVERAGED PUBLICLY SPONSORED TRAVEL TO BOOST BOOK SALES. BUT SAID SOTOMAYOR’S STAFF – WAS MOST “FORCEFUL” –AND MOST “SUCCESSFUL.” SOTOMAYOR JOINS JUSTICES CLARENCE THOMAS AND SAMUEL ALITO IN RECENT EXPOSES –

LOOKING AT THE ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICES