Justice Barrett topped Supreme Court authors last year in book royalties, with $425,000

The justices who sit on the nation's highest court received a total $800,000 in book royalties last year, according to newly- released financial reports.

The most significant payment, in the amount of $425,000, went to Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett for her forthcoming book, according to the reports released Thursday. The payment is likely the first of several on a book deal she signed for a reported $2 million.

Previously, the largest book advances went to Justices Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor, who each were paid over $1 million for their books chronicling their rise from humble beginnings to the Supreme Court.

In total, Sotomayor has made about $3 million from various book deals, according to the Associated Press.

The eight justices have an annual salary of $274,000, and Chief Justice Roberts gets $286,700.

Previous reports indicate that Barrett's book may focus on the ways in which judges should not let personal feelings shape their decisions on the bench. Her contract is with Sentinel imprint, the conservative branch of Penguin Random House publishing. 

Justice Neil Gorsuch received a quarter-of-a-million dollars in royalties from HarperCollins last year, for a yet-to-be-publish book. He previously made $650,000 for his 2019 book, "A Republic, If You Can Keep It." He also reported a $700 pair of cowboy boots as a gift he had been given by the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society.