U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court Gets First Negative Approval Rating

  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

Only 39 percent of U.S. voters approve of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job, while 43 percent disapprove, the first negative approval rating for the court in five years of polling.

The court got its highest approval rating in May 2007, when 58 percent approved of the job being done by the court. The Angus Reid Global Monitor noted the results.

In the latest survey, conducted by Quinnipiac University, 42 percent said the court is moving in the wrong direction while 33 percent said it is headed in the right direction. Twenty-five percent said the court is too liberal, 31 percent said it is too conservative and 33 percent said it is about right.

The respondents were also asked to weigh in on a debate on original intent. Forty percent said the Supreme Court should consider only the original intentions of the authors of the Constitution when making decisions, while 52 percent said it should consider changing times and current realities.

When asked for their opinion of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., 57 percent said they hadn’t heard enough about him to have an opinion.

Give us feedback, share a story tip or update, or report an error.