Supreme Court staffer pressured public library to buy more of Sonia Sotomayor's books: '250 books is definitely not enough'

• A new AP report details how Sonia Sotomayor's book sales intertwine with her service as a Justice.
• Taxpayer-funded staffers have at times pressured institutions to buy more of her books for events.

Sonia Sotomayor isn't just a Supreme Court justice — she's also a bestselling author.

And according to a new investigation by the Associated Press, those two facets of Sotomayor's life have at times intertwined, raising questions about the current ethics practices of the high court.

The report found that taxpayer-funded staff at the Supreme Court have often pressured public institutions, including colleges and libraries, to purchase more of Sotomayor's books for events around the country where the liberal justice has been invited to speak.

In one instance in 2019, a court staffer pressured a public library in Oregon to purchase more books than just 250 copies of her book "Just Ask" for an event with the justice, arguing that it was necessary to accommodate the expected crowd.

"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," wrote the staffer, according to the AP. "Families purchase multiples and people will be upset if they are unable to get in line because the book required is sold out."

The AP's investigation identified similar instances at other institutions, including Clemson University and Michigan State University.

Sotomayor has disclosed earning at least $3.7 million from book sales since joining the court in 2009, the AP noted — far more than the other eight justices on the court.

In a statement to the AP, the court defended the arrangements, saying that staffers recommend "the number of books based on the size of the audience so as not to disappoint attendees who may anticipate books being available at an event."

For members of Congress or members of the executive branch, this sort of arrangement is illegal. But because Supreme Court has no formal code of ethics, such practices are legal.

It's the just latest example of questions raised about ethics practices at the Supreme Court — much of which has focused on conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito's relationships with politically-active billionaires.

While Republicans have generally defended these arrangements, Democrats have seized on the revelations to call for instituting a formal code of ethics at the Supreme Court.

On July 20, the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, a sweeping package of ethics legislation that would compel the court to adopt a code of conduct, as well as tighten financial disclosure and recusal rules for justices.