Report: Sotomayor Didn’t Recuse Self From Cases Involving Publisher

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor failed to recuse herself from cases involving   Penguin Random House, the same book publisher that paid her in excess of $3 million since 2010, according to a report published in Thursday’s New York Post.

The copyright infringement cases, in which the publisher faced financial damage from unfavorable rulings by the high court, were not taken up by the Supreme Court. However, the paper reported, justices did vote on whether to hear the matters.

Meanwhile, the Post said, the Barack Obama-appointed justice raked in $3.6 million from Penguin and its subsidiaries for agreeing to let them publish a 2013 memoir titled “My Beloved World” and various children’s books. This, the Post attributed to the Daily Wire.

The report highlighted the potential for an uncomfortable overlap in noting that in the same year the memoir came out, the justice cast a vote on whether the high court should take up Aaron Greenspan v. Random House. A liberal fellow justice at that time, Stephen Breyer, recused himself; the Post said he’d already gotten money from Penguin.

In 2020, Sotomayor played a role in deciding on a petition from a fellow children’s author named Jennie Nicassio. It was the author’s contention that Penguin Random House was selling a book nearly identical to one she’d produced. Again, Breyer recused himself and the court ultimately declined to take up the matter. 

Sotomayor did disclose her publishing income on disclosure forms, the Post said.

The report, with its suggestion of a potential Sotomayor conflict, comes as lawmakers push for a revised code of ethics for the Supreme Court. Democrats have pointed to media reports alleging a conflict involving conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and a close associate, prominent GOP donor Harlan Crow.