{"id":145791,"date":"2026-03-11T15:54:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T23:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/11\/after-years-of-hold-my-beer-moments-supreme-court-confidence-hits-new-low\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T15:54:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T23:54:16","slug":"after-years-of-hold-my-beer-moments-supreme-court-confidence-hits-new-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/11\/after-years-of-hold-my-beer-moments-supreme-court-confidence-hits-new-low\/","title":{"rendered":"After Years Of \u2018Hold My Beer\u2019 Moments, Supreme Court Confidence Hits New Low"},"content":{"rendered":"

NBC News has a new poll<\/a> out about the Supreme Court and, well\u2026 remember when we thought the Court\u2019s public legitimacy crisis had probably bottomed out already<\/a>? Yeah. About that\u2026.<\/p>\n

According to the latest national poll, just 22% of respondents say they have a \u201cgreat deal\u201d or \u201cquite a bit\u201d of confidence in the Supreme Court. Another 40% say they have only \u201csome\u201d confidence, while 38% say they have \u201cvery little\u201d or \u201cno\u201d confidence at all.<\/p>\n

That 22% figure is the lowest confidence rating yet for the Court in NBC\u2019s polling.<\/p>\n

Which is impressive in the worst possible way considering how many opportunities this Court has had to crater public trust.<\/p>\n

The Court\u2019s confidence problem didn\u2019t appear overnight. The institution\u2019s public standing has been on a slow downward trajectory for decades, ever since the Court decided to step squarely into partisan politics.<\/p>\n

Many observers trace the modern crisis back to the Court\u2019s intervention in the Bush v. Gore<\/em> decision in 2000, which effectively decided the presidential election. Before that decision, 52% of Americans reported having a \u201cgreat deal\u201d or \u201cquite a bit\u201d of confidence in the Court.<\/p>\n

That was the high-water mark.<\/p>\n

Since then, the Roberts Court era has been defined by increasingly ideological rulings, something the public has noticed.<\/p>\n

When the Court\u2019s decision <\/a>in Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/em> came down in 2022, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion and overturning Roe v. Wade<\/em>, confidence in the Court took a pretty big hit. In the immediate aftermath of Dobbs<\/em>, only 27% of voters said they had a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the Court.<\/p>\n

And somehow the numbers have gotten even worse.<\/p>\n

This topline number is bad, but the party breakdown reveals even deeper issues. Among Democrats, just 9% say they have a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the Court. Republicans are more supportive, natch, but not exactly thrilled. Only 35% of Republicans say they have a high degree of confidence in the Court.<\/p>\n

Think about that for a second.<\/p>\n

This is a Court where Donald Trump appointed three justices<\/a> and currently enjoys an 84% win rate<\/a> when his cases reach the Supreme Court. By any objective measure, the modern Court is extraordinarily favorable terrain for the conservative legal movement.<\/p>\n

And even then, only about a third of Republicans express strong confidence in the institution.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how deep the legitimacy hole is.<\/p>\n

As Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the survey alongside Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, put it:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to make controversial rulings that one party may or may not like but maintain respect and confidence. What we are seeing is quite the opposite, where the court is making controversial rulings but not being respected and in fact confidence is being eroded.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This downward trajectory should feel familiar, because we\u2019ve been watching it play out<\/a> for years<\/a>. Across multiple polls<\/a> and questions<\/a> to the American public, the Supreme Court\u2019s number<\/a>s have just been tanking.<\/a><\/p>\n

But this NBC poll still manages to set a new benchmark for institutional distrust.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> The Supreme Court\u2019s Sinking Popularity<\/a><\/p>\n

Is This The New Hotness In Court Reform? End The Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n

Of Course The Supreme Court\u2019s Approval Is In The Tank<\/a><\/p>\n

Whaddya Know? A Majority Of Americans Support Expanding The Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n

John Roberts Has The Best Approval Rating In Government And That\u2019s Terrible News For America<\/a><\/p>\n

Fox News Shows Just How Badly Americans Dislike The Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n

No One Likes Clarence Thomas, Or Really *Any* Of The Conservative Supreme Court Justices<\/a><\/p>\n

Americans Know The Truth About The Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post After Years Of \u2018Hold My Beer\u2019 Moments, Supreme Court Confidence Hits New Low<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NBC News has a new poll<\/a> out about the Supreme Court and, well\u2026 remember when we thought the Court\u2019s public legitimacy crisis had probably bottomed out already<\/a>? Yeah. About that\u2026.<\/p>\n

According to the latest national poll, just 22% of respondents say they have a \u201cgreat deal\u201d or \u201cquite a bit\u201d of confidence in the Supreme Court. Another 40% say they have only \u201csome\u201d confidence, while 38% say they have \u201cvery little\u201d or \u201cno\u201d confidence at all.<\/p>\n

That 22% figure is the lowest confidence rating yet for the Court in NBC\u2019s polling.<\/p>\n

Which is impressive in the worst possible way considering how many opportunities this Court has had to crater public trust.<\/p>\n

The Court\u2019s confidence problem didn\u2019t appear overnight. The institution\u2019s public standing has been on a slow downward trajectory for decades, ever since the Court decided to step squarely into partisan politics.<\/p>\n

Many observers trace the modern crisis back to the Court\u2019s intervention in the Bush v. Gore<\/em> decision in 2000, which effectively decided the presidential election. Before that decision, 52% of Americans reported having a \u201cgreat deal\u201d or \u201cquite a bit\u201d of confidence in the Court.<\/p>\n

That was the high-water mark.<\/p>\n

Since then, the Roberts Court era has been defined by increasingly ideological rulings, something the public has noticed.<\/p>\n

When the Court\u2019s decision <\/a>in Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/em> came down in 2022, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion and overturning Roe v. Wade<\/em>, confidence in the Court took a pretty big hit. In the immediate aftermath of Dobbs<\/em>, only 27% of voters said they had a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the Court.<\/p>\n

And somehow the numbers have gotten even worse.<\/p>\n

This topline number is bad, but the party breakdown reveals even deeper issues. Among Democrats, just 9% say they have a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the Court. Republicans are more supportive, natch, but not exactly thrilled. Only 35% of Republicans say they have a high degree of confidence in the Court.<\/p>\n

Think about that for a second.<\/p>\n

This is a Court where Donald Trump appointed three justices<\/a> and currently enjoys an 84% win rate<\/a> when his cases reach the Supreme Court. By any objective measure, the modern Court is extraordinarily favorable terrain for the conservative legal movement.<\/p>\n

And even then, only about a third of Republicans express strong confidence in the institution.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how deep the legitimacy hole is.<\/p>\n

As Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the survey alongside Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, put it:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to make controversial rulings that one party may or may not like but maintain respect and confidence. What we are seeing is quite the opposite, where the court is making controversial rulings but not being respected and in fact confidence is being eroded.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This downward trajectory should feel familiar, because we\u2019ve been watching it play out<\/a> for years<\/a>. Across multiple polls<\/a> and questions<\/a> to the American public, the Supreme Court\u2019s number<\/a>s have just been tanking.<\/a><\/p>\n

But this NBC poll still manages to set a new benchmark for institutional distrust.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> The Supreme Court\u2019s Sinking Popularity<\/a><\/p>\n

Is This The New Hotness In Court Reform? End The Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n

Of Course The Supreme Court\u2019s Approval Is In The Tank<\/a><\/p>\n

Whaddya Know? A Majority Of Americans Support Expanding The Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n

John Roberts Has The Best Approval Rating In Government And That\u2019s Terrible News For America<\/a><\/p>\n

Fox News Shows Just How Badly Americans Dislike The Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n

No One Likes Clarence Thomas, Or Really *Any* Of The Conservative Supreme Court Justices<\/a><\/p>\n

Americans Know The Truth About The Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post After Years Of \u2018Hold My Beer\u2019 Moments, Supreme Court Confidence Hits New Low<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NBC News has a new poll out about the Supreme Court and, well\u2026 remember when we thought the Court\u2019s public legitimacy crisis had probably bottomed out already? Yeah. About that\u2026. According to the latest national poll, just 22% of respondents say they have a \u201cgreat deal\u201d or \u201cquite a bit\u201d of confidence in the Supreme […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":145792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-qSL77H.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}