A recent New York Times article put a spotlight on the book deals made by sitting justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. The focus was largely on how much the judges were being paid for those agreements, with the Times pointing out that five were earning more from book deals than they were serving on the highest court in the land. The biggest single deal is with the newest justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, who signed to write a memoir with Penguin Random House for what the Times reported was $3 million. Justice Sonia Sotomayor has earned a total of $3.7 million from writing her memoir and children’s books. But how have books written by Supreme Court justices sold? Turns out, the record shows, like any other book category, there are some hits and misses. And none of the books sold close to the numbers racked up by the Obamas, whose titles have sold tens of millions of copies.
