Posted on 08/31/2006 11:34:43 AM PDT by Alex1977
Justice Antonin Scalia was the Supreme Court's most frequent traveler last year with 24 expense-paid trips that took him as far as Ireland, Italy, Turkey and Australia.
Law schools and legal groups paid for most of Scalia's travel, although Italian heritage organizations, media giant Time Warner Inc., the Roman Catholic Diocese of Louisiana and the Juilliard School also covered some trips.
The information was included in Scalia's financial disclosure report, filed earlier this month. The other eight justices' finances for 2005 were disclosed in June. Scalia received an extension.
Scalia also is one of at least six millionaires among the nine justices, with assets of $1.1 million to $2.6 million.
The bulk of his holdings are in a trust valued at $500,000 to $1 million, a money market fund with $250,000 to $500,000, and a retirement fund from his days as a law professor that is worth $100,000 to $250,000.
Scalia supplemented his $203,000 annual court salary with $21,900 for part-time teaching and a book review in the conservative journal First Things.
He traveled twice to Italy in 2005, spending a week in Rome and Palermo, Italy, in May courtesy of the National Italian American Foundation. Scalia returned to Rome in September for a conference. That trip was paid by an organization called the Mentor Group.
Trinity College in Melbourne, Australia, paid for Scalia's trip Down Under in October. The National University of Ireland in Galway sponsored Scalia in February. The University of Kansas School of Law sent the justice to Istanbul, Turkey, for 11 days in July.
Like other federal officials, the justices each year report their assets, including gifts and earnings, but in broad ranges of thousands of dollars instead of exact amounts. In addition, the justices are required to provide some details of reimbursements they receive for travel.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy took 15 expense-paid trips and Justice Stephen Breyer made 14 in 2005.
The other millionaires on the court are Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter, John Paul Stevens and Breyer. Justice Samuel Alito might be in that category as well, with assets of $665,000 to $1.7 million.
Justices are paid $203,000 each year. The chief justice's salary is $212,100.
Fair enough.
"Scalia also is one of at least six millionaires among the nine justices, with assets of $1.1 million to $2.6 million."
Big deal. So an Italian boy makes good. You got a problem with that?
Must be a slow day down at the Ass. Press for Mrs. Sherman's little Markie. Scalia filed for an extension and got it. What's the problem little buddy? Are all the office pencils sharpened and there is nothing else for you to do?
ROTFLOL!
I wish there was a way to get rid of the Supreme Court and ALL elected politicians. Then we could have a group of everyday Americans represent the American people and when a law needs to be made, let the American people decide, by vote, if they want it or not. Something along the lines of "We, the people".
I suspect that even Supreme Court justices don't want their heirs to pay vast amounts in inheritance taxes.
They have likely moved much of their assets into trusts or transferred much of them to others.
I would expect that the value of their homes alone would make up a sizable part of $1 million, and their government pensions which appear to be ignored in this article, have to be worth a huge amount as well.
I wouldn't put much faith in the numbers this article is throwing around. I suspect the numbers are accurate in that they match the assets that they are legally required to disclose. However, I doubt those numbers truly reflect the net worth of any of the justices.
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