[vharuck]

Yes, using the everyday definition of "gift." Is it an improper gift? Depends on what your professional relationship is with your friend and their family. Must you report it? That's a legal question that depends on a lot of things.

Friends giving gifts is usually fine and a positive aspect of friendship. But, in the case of Supreme Court justices, we've decided they need to record and publish these gifts. That way, Congress and the public can decide if their rulings were affected by "gifts." For example, South Korea's Supreme Court flew Ruth Bader Ginsberg over for $8000. That was probably more of a "professional networking and learning" gift. But if somebody with a connection to South Korea's government had a case before the court, then we could've pressured RBG to sit that case out.