How low can SCOTUS approval ratings go?
The post Fox News Shows Just How Badly Americans Dislike The Supreme Court appeared first on Above the Law.
The Supreme Court is not doing a good job. The justices on the High Court used to get away with pretending they were neutral arbiters of the law calling “balls and strikes” as the law dictated. But, with the recent run of truly awful decisions (Bruen, Dobbs, the Trump immunity decision), the cloth has been pulled from the nation’s eyes. And the Court’s popularity is sinking accordingly.
It was only two years ago we were talking about the terrible SCOTUS approval rating of 44%. But a recent Fox News poll shows it’s gotten even worse. A shockingly low 38% approve of how the Court is doing, down a whopping 20% from the high water mark of 58% in March 2017. And 45% say the current Court is too conservative — welp, the GOP stealing a SCOTUS seat will do that.
I know the Court doesn’t have to worry about reelection, what with the benefits of a lifetime appointment, but those are some pretty awful numbers.
The polling also recorded some no-fucking-shit cross tabs. Like from that 2017 high, the approval rating from Democrats has fallen more sharply, down 48 points among Dems, down 29 points among independents, and up 12 points among Republicans. There’s also a 16-point spread between men and women over Court approval — it’s almost like those who have had their rights taken away by this Court are uniquely salty about it.
The immunity decision was also a sore point for respondents, with 56% saying they disapprove of the decision. Unsurprisingly, Dems were more likely (56%) than independents (68%) or Republicans (27%) to dislike the decision.
And for those who care about the Court’s legitimacy, it’s unfortunate that 83% say partisanship plays a role at least some of the time in deciding cases. With all this negative feelings about the Court floating about, Court reform is something most Americans support.
About 8 in 10 favor establishing a mandatory retirement age for the justices (81% favor) as well as limiting them to an 18-year term (78%). Both numbers are up by double-digits since July 2022 (71% and 66% respectively), shortly after the court overturned the landmark case, Roe v. Wade.
Since 2022, support for the proposals is up across demographic groups, most notably Republicans (+17 term limits, +15 mandatory retirement age).
That is remarkable bipartisan support. The justices should take note — retirement might be coming sooner than they think.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
