Chief Justice Sold AT&T Shares After Ruling In Co.'s Case
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 2:58 pm
Law360, Washington (June 13, 2019, 7:19 PM EDT) -- Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. sold at least $100,000 in AT&T stock in November, shortly after a judicial watchdog said he should have recused himself in a case involving the telecom and while AT&T's merger with Time Warner was pending before the D.C. Circuit, according to financial disclosures released Thursday.
The chief justice sold the stocks on Nov. 15 for a gain of at least $100,000, just eight days after watchdog group Fix The Court discovered the conflict and criticized him for not recusing himself from voting on the customers' appeal.
In response to Thursday's disclosure about the sale, Fix The Court's Executive Director Gabe Roth said Justice Roberts' slip-up possibly violated the federal recusal statute, and Roth continued his call for the justices to divest themselves of individual stocks.
"It should not take a mistake, or near-mistake, to convince a justice that he should not hold shares in a company that frequently comes before the court," Roth said Thursday. "Such holdings often lead to recusals, meaning the potential for a 4-4 tie, which undermines the judiciary's ability to function properly."
Roth said that, "though they're trending in the right direction, selling their shares bit by bit," Justices Roberts, Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito should follow their colleagues' example and refrain from owning these shares.
Justice Roberts' transaction also came as the U.S. Department of Justice was appealing its unsuccessful attempt to block AT&T's $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner for alleged competitive harm. The DOJ ended up losing in the D.C. Circuit in February, and decided not to pursue it to the Supreme Court.
Justice Roberts' stock sale was listed among a cache of financial disclosures for 2018 given to reporters by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and posted online Thursday.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh reported substantially less in investments than other members of the court, identifying only Bank of America accounts worth up to $50,000 and a 401(k) plan with $15,000 or less in funds. By comparison, Justice Breyer listed dozens of holdings that, based on the value ranges contained in his disclosure, are worth between $6.2 million and $16.1 million.
The disclosures reveal the outside income of the justices, who already pull in a salary of about $214,000 from their positions on the court, with the exception of Justice Roberts, who makes just shy of $224,000.
Justice Neil Gorsuch more than doubled his salary with $225,000 from Penguin Random House LLC, which is publishing his upcoming book, "A Republic, If You Can Keep It," that will feature "events that have shaped his life … from his upbringing in Colorado to his Supreme Court confirmation process."
Penguin Random House — apparently the publisher of choice for members of the court — also paid $33,000 in royalties to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who has written various dual-language children's books and a memoir, "My Beloved World." It also paid just under $5,000 to Justice Breyer, who has three books with Penguin Random House.
Justice Clarence Thomas earned a combined $28,000 teaching at the University of Kansas School of Law, George Washington University School of Law and the University of Georgia School of Law. Before he was confirmed, Justice Kavanaugh made $27,765 from Harvard Law School. Harvard also paid Justice Elena Kagan $17,500 over the period. Justice Gorsuch earned $13,250 in income from George Mason University.
Justice Gorsuch also received a watercolor painting from Judge Terrence L. O'Brien, his former colleague on the Tenth Circuit.
The reports also reflect the justices' busy schedule. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who turned 86 in March, listed 14 different events in multiple cities and countries for which she was provided transportation, lodging and food by the organizers. Two of those, like the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, were related to a pair of films about her — the CNN Films documentary "RBG" and a Hollywood biopic called "On The Basis Of Sex."
Roth raised concerns over the combined 64 free trips that the justices took during the year.
"Once again, the justices took dozens of trips across the country and around the world last year in which a third party paid for their dining, airfare and accommodations, with the public left in the dark about how lavish these trips may have been," Roth said.
"Just as top officials in other branches are required to list the market value of their food, flights and hotels when they travel on someone else's dime, the justices should have a similar requirement, so that the public can better determine whether an outside source is attempting to buy influence."
--Additional reporting by Bryan Koenig and Christopher Crosby. Editing by Nicole Bleier.
https://www.law360.com/legalethics/arti ... -co-s-case
The chief justice sold the stocks on Nov. 15 for a gain of at least $100,000, just eight days after watchdog group Fix The Court discovered the conflict and criticized him for not recusing himself from voting on the customers' appeal.
In response to Thursday's disclosure about the sale, Fix The Court's Executive Director Gabe Roth said Justice Roberts' slip-up possibly violated the federal recusal statute, and Roth continued his call for the justices to divest themselves of individual stocks.
"It should not take a mistake, or near-mistake, to convince a justice that he should not hold shares in a company that frequently comes before the court," Roth said Thursday. "Such holdings often lead to recusals, meaning the potential for a 4-4 tie, which undermines the judiciary's ability to function properly."
Roth said that, "though they're trending in the right direction, selling their shares bit by bit," Justices Roberts, Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito should follow their colleagues' example and refrain from owning these shares.
Justice Roberts' transaction also came as the U.S. Department of Justice was appealing its unsuccessful attempt to block AT&T's $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner for alleged competitive harm. The DOJ ended up losing in the D.C. Circuit in February, and decided not to pursue it to the Supreme Court.
Justice Roberts' stock sale was listed among a cache of financial disclosures for 2018 given to reporters by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and posted online Thursday.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh reported substantially less in investments than other members of the court, identifying only Bank of America accounts worth up to $50,000 and a 401(k) plan with $15,000 or less in funds. By comparison, Justice Breyer listed dozens of holdings that, based on the value ranges contained in his disclosure, are worth between $6.2 million and $16.1 million.
The disclosures reveal the outside income of the justices, who already pull in a salary of about $214,000 from their positions on the court, with the exception of Justice Roberts, who makes just shy of $224,000.
Justice Neil Gorsuch more than doubled his salary with $225,000 from Penguin Random House LLC, which is publishing his upcoming book, "A Republic, If You Can Keep It," that will feature "events that have shaped his life … from his upbringing in Colorado to his Supreme Court confirmation process."
Penguin Random House — apparently the publisher of choice for members of the court — also paid $33,000 in royalties to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who has written various dual-language children's books and a memoir, "My Beloved World." It also paid just under $5,000 to Justice Breyer, who has three books with Penguin Random House.
Justice Clarence Thomas earned a combined $28,000 teaching at the University of Kansas School of Law, George Washington University School of Law and the University of Georgia School of Law. Before he was confirmed, Justice Kavanaugh made $27,765 from Harvard Law School. Harvard also paid Justice Elena Kagan $17,500 over the period. Justice Gorsuch earned $13,250 in income from George Mason University.
Justice Gorsuch also received a watercolor painting from Judge Terrence L. O'Brien, his former colleague on the Tenth Circuit.
The reports also reflect the justices' busy schedule. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who turned 86 in March, listed 14 different events in multiple cities and countries for which she was provided transportation, lodging and food by the organizers. Two of those, like the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, were related to a pair of films about her — the CNN Films documentary "RBG" and a Hollywood biopic called "On The Basis Of Sex."
Roth raised concerns over the combined 64 free trips that the justices took during the year.
"Once again, the justices took dozens of trips across the country and around the world last year in which a third party paid for their dining, airfare and accommodations, with the public left in the dark about how lavish these trips may have been," Roth said.
"Just as top officials in other branches are required to list the market value of their food, flights and hotels when they travel on someone else's dime, the justices should have a similar requirement, so that the public can better determine whether an outside source is attempting to buy influence."
--Additional reporting by Bryan Koenig and Christopher Crosby. Editing by Nicole Bleier.
https://www.law360.com/legalethics/arti ... -co-s-case