Court Battles

Beyoncé gifts Ketanji Brown Jackson concert tickets, financial disclosure shows

Superstar singer Beyoncé gifted four free concert tickets to Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson last year, according to financial disclosure forms made public Friday.

The disclosure by Jackson does not specify which concert the tickets were for, but Beyoncé was on her “Renaissance World Tour” for much of last year, including a stop just outside Washington, D.C.  

The financial forms of all but one Supreme Court justice were revealed Friday as part of an annual filing deadline. Justice Samuel Alito requested a 90-day extension.

The tickets from Beyoncé to Jackson, valued at $3,711.84, were among the notable gifts the justices reported last year. 

For Jackson’s part, she was also among the justices who raked in a considerable amount of book royalties, earning $893,750 from Penguin Random House for what appears to be an advance for her memoir, which comes out in September. She earned the most of any justice when it came to book royalties.

Jackson also reported $12,500 worth of artwork for her chambers at the Supreme Court Building gifted by two different artists and “HU Scholars.”  

Last year, Jackson’s disclosure form also got attention for reporting a $1,200 flower display from Oprah and more than $6,500 in designer clothing for a magazine photo shoot.

Jackson made history in 2022 by becoming the first Black female Supreme Court justice to sit on the bench following her nomination by President Biden. 

Though the justices have long filed the annual paperwork, recent years’ disclosures have come under greater scrutiny as the justices face increasing criticism for their ethical standards, though those have largely been squared at Justice Clarence Thomas.

Thomas’s disclosure included an amendment to a filing he made half a decade ago to include two trips paid for by billionaire Harlan Crow.