Supreme Court justices should go to great lengths to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Unfortunately, five of the nine members of the court don’t seem very concerned about the connection – at least in the mind of observers – between money and influence.

Justice Clarence Thomas accepted $42,000 worth of gifts between 1998 and 2003. According to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the matter, Thomas received a rare Bible worth $19,000, a $5,000 personal check to pay for a relative’s college tuition, and tires – $1,200 worth.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist accepted gifts valued at $5,000. Sandra Day O’Connor accepted small crystal items worth $5,025; Antonin Scalia reported $1,275 worth of gifts and Ruth Bader Ginsburg pocketed $500 worth.

The four other justices – Stephen Breyer, Anthony Kennedy, John Paul Stevens and David Souter – reported receiving no gifts.

All the gifts were legal, but that only identifies a problem with the rules that federal judges have enacted for themselves.

Supreme Court justices are appointed for life. Their current salary is about $199,000 a year. Does Clarence Thomas really need someone to buy tires for him?

It looks bad. It smells bad. And it makes us feel bad.

The majority of the Supreme Court should show better judgment.