SCOTUS Archives

Public Trust in SCOTUS at a Historical Low

May 18, 2023 Buck Banks

18%

In the 2022 General Social Survey, just 18% of Americans said they have a great deal of confidence in the court, down from 26% in 2021, and 36% said they had hardly any, up from 21%. Another 46% said they have “only some” confidence in the most recent survey.

Bloomberg: “The nine Supreme Court justices in total are worth at least $24 million. Or it might be closer to $68 million. … It’s impossible to get more specific than that. That’s because federal ethics laws require justices to disclose only those assets that might pose a conflict of interest. As a result, the public can only assess part of each justice’s holdings, valued in a broad range.”

Clarence Thomas stands accused of ethics violations.
“WTF Harlan Crow?” asks a disgusted nation.
The Senate’s mounting an investigation,
But we just have one burning question:
Why would anyone want to take Clarence Thomas along on vacation?

Over Half of Americans Disapprove of SCOTUS

October 11, 2022 Buck Banks

53%

A new Annenberg Public Policy Center survey finds that 53% of U.S. adults disapprove of how the Supreme Court handles its job. The survey also reveals a chasm between the qualities the American people say they value most in judges, such as fairness and impartiality, and the traits they perceive in Supreme Court justices.

Trust in SCOTUS at an All-Time Low

September 29, 2022 Buck Banks

20 points

A new Gallup poll finds 47% of U.S. adults say they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of trust in the Supreme Court. That represents a 20-percentage-point drop from two years ago, including seven points since last year, and is now the lowest in Gallup’s trend by six points.

Americans’ Faith in SCOTUS Has Collapsed

May 10, 2022 Buck Banks

40 points

A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that Americans’ confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court has collapsed over the last 20 months — a period that began with former President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans installing a 6-3 conservative majority ahead of the 2020 election.

Sen. Ben Sasse on ‘Jackassery’ in the Senate

March 24, 2022March 24, 2022 Buck Banks

“I think we should recognize that the jackassery we often see around here is partly because of people mugging for short-term camera opportunities.”

— Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), quoted by the Washington Post, about grandstanding senators during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson.

American Bar Association Gives Jackson Highest Score

March 24, 2022 Buck Banks

A+

Representatives of the American Bar Association lauded the qualifications of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday, saying everyone they interviewed used terms such as “brilliant,” “beyond reproach,” “impeccable” and “A-plus” to describe her, the Washington Post reports.

Strong Public Support for Brown Jackson

March 22, 2022 Buck Banks

47%

A new Politico/Morning Consult poll out this morning shows that 47% of voters think Ketanji Brown Jackson should be confirmed to the Supreme Court, while only 19% oppose confirmation.

GOP Attacks on Brown Jackson Risk Alienating Voters

March 22, 2022 Buck Banks

“Republican senators have a tough job this week as Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson faces questioning from the Judiciary Committee. In many ways, how the GOP side of the dais decides to treat the first Black woman ever nominated to the high court is the opening salvo of what promises to be a bruising midterm election cycle. … They must, all at once, be tough on a liberal federal appellate judge to placate and excite their base ahead of November’s midterm elections. But they also risk further alienating suburban white women and other swing voters who ditched them in 2020 to give Joe Biden the White House and Democrats control of both chambers of Congress.”

18%

In the 2022 General Social Survey, just 18% of Americans said they have a great deal of confidence in the court, down from 26% in 2021, and 36% said they had hardly any, up from 21%. Another 46% said they have “only some” confidence in the most recent survey.

$24 million or $68 million

53%

20 points

A new Gallup poll finds 47% of U.S. adults say they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of trust in the Supreme Court. That represents a 20-percentage-point drop from two years ago, including seven points since last year, and is now the lowest in Gallup’s trend by six points.

40 points

A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that Americans’ confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court has collapsed over the last 20 months — a period that began with former President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans installing a 6-3 conservative majority ahead of the 2020 election.

“I think we should recognize that the jackassery we often see around here is partly because of people mugging for short-term camera opportunities.”

— Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), quoted by the Washington Post, about grandstanding senators during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson.

A+

47%

A new Politico/Morning Consult poll out this morning shows that 47% of voters think Ketanji Brown Jackson should be confirmed to the Supreme Court, while only 19% oppose confirmation.

— Roll Call

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“His whole act can feel like a clunky contrivance—a forced persona railing against phony or hyped-up outrages.”

— Mark Leibovich

— Salt Lake Tribune

“I don’t want reality.”

— Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), quoted by The Guardian, while questioning a witness about the teaching of race.

“I’m going to leave it up to Kevin McCarthy to see if he wants to help defeat Putin,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Punchbowl News. “I mean, he’s been pretty good… But is the Republican Party going to be the party that bails out [Russian President Vladimir] Putin? I hope not.”

“You know, I have conversations with my father and my uncle about what I’m doing. I do meditations every day, and that’s kind of the nature of my meditations. I have a lot of conversations with dead people.”

— The Free Press asked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. how he thinks his father or uncle would have responded to the challenges facing Democrats today.

Numerati

71%

Gallup: “Seventy-one percent of Americans think same-sex marriage should be legal, matching the high Gallup recorded in 2022. Public support for legally recognizing gay marriages has been consistently above 50% since the early 2010s.”

115,000

339,000

70%

“The annual ‘Accelerating Acceptance’ study published Thursday by the advocacy organization reported that 70% of non-LGBTQ+ people want companies to include the LGBTQ community in hiring, advertising and sponsorships,” reports The Messenger.

2 million